Rice University
Denver
Owls Turn Back Pioneers
3/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 23, 2012
Philipp Seifert shook off a first-set loss to grind out a three-set victory and provide the clinching point as the 47th ranked Rice Owls snapped #49 Denver's six-match winning streak with a 4-3 win at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday.
"This really was a great team win today," Rice head coach Ron Smarr stated. "We had to rely on some different people to pick the team up and they answered the call. I was really proud of the way Philipp battled back from a loss in the first set and he really played that third set well. Michael Nuesslein continues to play great tennis and Jonathan Chang really battled after a slow start. He and Michael winning set the tone and Philipp capped it off," he added.
Smarr expected a tight battle from the Pioneers, who had reeled off six straight matches and moved into the top 50 after the return of several key members of their lineup. From the opening serve of doubles, Smarr's prediction proved to be accurate.
After splitting sets at No. 1 and No. 3, the point would require a tie-breaker to be decided. Nuesslein and Christian Saravia emerged with the point for Rice after taking that decisive action by a 7-4 count.
Down 1-0, Denver responded with an opening barrage in singles, taking four of six first sets. That total might have been five of six if not for Chang's rebound from an early deficit in his first set. Even with Nuesslein and Chang closing things out in their second sets, the Owls would still require a player to rebound from the first set loss and win in three.
Seifert answered the call, shaking off a 6-3 opening loss to win the next two sets 6-3 and 6-1, to give the Owls their 12th win of the year, their fourth in a row and their third straight over a ranked opponent.
Rice will be back on the UNLV courts tomorrow at 4 p.m. (central), when they face the host school in a dual match.
Players Mentioned
