Rice University
Tulsa
No. 27 Tulsa Edges No. 24 Rice, 4-3
4/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 7, 2007
TULSA, Okla. -- In a battle of the Conference USA leaders, No. 27 Tulsa edged No. 24 Rice in a 4-3 dual-match thriller on Saturday at Tulsa.
The Owls and the Golden Hurricane are the top-ranked teams in C-USA. The teams last met in the 2006 league championship match in Tulsa with the Hurricane taking the win.
On Saturday, Rice got on the scoreboard first with wins at one and two doubles to take the point. After Tulsa won at three, Ben Harknett and Christoph Müller answered back with an 8-6 decision against Lucques Maasdorp and Andy Connelly at two. Jason Mok and Tobias Scheil then delivered the point to the Owls with their 9-7 win against Diego Camacho and Ross Cunningham.
Tulsa quickly got on the board with a win at No. 6 singles, but the Owls' responded again as Ralph Knupfer, ranked 98th by the ITA this week, blasted 108th-ranked Ricardo Soriano 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles to put Rice ahead 2-1. The Hurricane surged back with straight-set decisions at one and four singles to take a 3-2 advantage as the final two matches head to third sets.
Mok knotted the score for Rice as he rallied from a set back against Cunningham for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 triumph at No. 5 singles as all eyes moved to No. 3. There, Müller and Will Gray had battled to a draw through the first two sets, then battled to another draw in the third frame as the players headed to the deciding tie-break. Gray was able to gain the edge to take the match 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5) and gain the win for Tulsa.
The loss drops Rice to 12-8 on the year, while Tulsa improves to 15-6. The Owls return home to close out the regular this week with matches at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. First, Rice hosts Abilene Christian on Tuesday at 6 pm. The Owls then take on longtime foe SMU on Friday at 1:30 pm, before wrapping things up against No. 19 Michigan on April 15 at 11 am.
Rice also serves as the host of the 2007 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship, April 20-22 at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.
Results
No. 27 Tulsa 4, No. 24 Rice 3
Doubles
1. Tobias Scheil/Jason Mok (RICE) def. Diego Camacho/Ross Cunningham (TLS) 9-7
2. Ben Harknett/Christoph Muller (RICE) def. Lucques Maasdorp/Andy Connelly (TLS) 8-6
3. Federico Soriano/Arnau Brugues (TLS) def. Ralph Knupfer/Filip Zivojinovic (RICE) 8-4
Singles
1. #8 Arnau Brugues (TLS) def. #28 Ben Harknett (RICE) 6-2, 6-3
2. #98 Ralph Knupfer (RICE) def. #108 Ricardo Soriano (TLS) 6-1, 6-1
3. Will Gray (TLS) def. Christoph Muller (RICE) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Federico Soriano (TLS) def. Tobias Scheil (RICE) 6-1, 6-2
5. Jason Mok (RICE) def. Ross Cunningham (TLS) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
6. Diego Camacho (TLS) def. Filip Zivojinovic (RICE) 6-0, 6-1
Order or Finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,2,1,4,5,3)
Players Mentioned
