Rice University
#12 Tulsa
No. 19 Men's Tennis Falls to No. 12 Tulsa
4/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 2, 2008
No. 12 Tulsa at No. 19 Rice Box Score (PDF) 
HOUSTON - The No. 19 Rice men's tennis team lost a 4-1 singles decision against conference rival and No. 12 Tulsa Wednesday afternoon inside the Downtown Club at the Met.
The match was moved indoors due to threatening rain in the Houston area.
Tulsa (17-3) has won 13 of its last 14 matches and jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage aided by a pair of victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots.
No. 24 ranked Arnau Brugues upended No. 27 ranked Bruno Rosa 6-3, 6-4 at the top of the lineup, while reigning C-USA Player of the Week Victor Kolik defeated No. 49 ranked Christoph Müller in the No. 2 match. Müller almost dug his way out of a 1-5 second set hole before Kolik held serve after four deuces to hold on to the 6-3, 6-4 win.
"It was one of the closest 4-1 matches I've been a part of," head coach Ron Smarr said. "Give Tulsa credit because they were able to win a majority of the big points. It's tough to overcome losing at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. We'll hopefully get another chance to play them at the conference tournament."
Will Gray gave Tulsa a 3-0 edge turning in a 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory over Chong Wang at the No. 4 spot.
Dennis Polyakov stopped the momentum and put the Owls on the board at No. 6 with a gritty 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win. Polyakov relied on serve-and-volley tactics to close out the match.
Filip Zivojinovic fired out to a 6-3, 4-2 advantage at the No. 5 position before Alberto Sottocorno strung together 9 of the next 10 games to take control of the match. The Serbian regrouped to pull within 5-4 before Sottocorno held his serve to clinch the 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 decision.
Ralph Knupfer and Ricardo Soriano split sets at No. 3 before the match was stopped.
Rice hits the road and takes on No. 60 SMU on Sunday. First serve against the Mustangs is set for noon. The Owls return to Jake Hess Stadium for a day-night doubleheader Wednesday against No. 20 Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M to conclude the regular season.
Players Mentioned
