Baylor Ends Owls' NCAA Quest, 4-0
5/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 16, 2010
The Rice men's tennis team's run of magical moments came to an end at the Baylor Tennis Center on Sunday as the 8th ranked Bears blanked the Owls 4-0 to advance to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships.
"We played hard, but they played better," Rice head coach Ron Smarr said. "The are ranked eighth for a reason and we saw that today. They have three great seniors and they really play well at home. We have nothing to feel bad about," he added.
Rice's dreams for a trip to Athens, Georgia for the round of 16 seemed on track during the battle for the doubles point, as the Owls rebounded from a sluggish effort in Saturday's win over 25th ranked Washington. After the squads split the matches at No. 2 and No. 3, the point came down to the battle between each school's No. 1 duo.
Michael Nuesslein and Christian Saravia closed to within 7-6 before 28th ranked Denes Lukac and Roberto Maytin fought off five break points to win the match and clinch the point for the Bears.
Smarr said that Rice senior Dennis Polyakov sparked the Owls efforts in doubles.
"Dennis really turned it around for us at No. 3 . He and Oscar (Podlewski) went down 3-0 and Dennis took it on himself to get us back in the match. He has been a big plus for us this year as a senior and has become a fine doubles player. He kept competing and making things happen and came back to win 8-4," Smarr said.
Despite the blanking, Smarr was proud of the fight the Owls continued to show, even as the outcome drew to its inevitable conclusion.
"We were fighting to the end. Sam (Garforth-Bles) fought of four match points that would have clinched the match for Baylor. All the other matches were very tight. Baylor was just too good today, but we never gave an inch," he added.
While Bruno Rosa will continue on to the NCAA Championships to compete in singles and look for a third consecutive All America ranking, the rest of the Owls will move on to summer competition. But Smarr told his team they can feel good about their efforts this year and use that as a springboard for the 2010-11 campaign.
"When you think back to when we were 6-8 and down in the mid 50's in the rankings, and see how close we really were to making the Round of 16, this team has a lot to be proud of. They showed great heart and really grew during the year. We turned those 4-3 losses into wins and we have a conference title to show for iit. This has been an enjoyable year," he stated.
#8 Baylor 4, #33 Rice 0
Singles competition
1. #15 Denes Lukacs (BU) vs. #26 Bruno Rosa (RICE) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
2. #35 Jordan Rux (BU) def. Michael Nuesslein (RICE) 6-1, 6-1
3. Attila Bucko (BU) vs. Isamu Tachibana (RICE) 6-2, 6-5, unfinished
4. Dominik Mueller (BU) def. Sam Garforth-Bles (RICE) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Roberto Maytin (BU) vs. Oscar Podlewski (RICE) 7-6 (7-4), 4-4, unfinished
6. Julian Bley (BU) def. Christian Saravia (RICE) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Denes Lukacs/Roberto Maytin (BU) def. Michael Nuesslein/Christian Saravia (RICE) 8-6
2. Jordan Rux/Attila Bucko (BU) def. Bruno Rosa/Isamu Tachibana (RICE) 8-4
3. Oscar Podlewski/Dennis Polyakov (RICE) def. Maros Horny/Sergio Ramirez (BU) 8-4
Match Notes:
Rice 15-11; National ranking #33
Baylor 22-6; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,6,4)
2010 NCAA Championship Second Round
Players Mentioned
