Rice University
LSU
Bennett Caps Double Trouble Comeback
1/31/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Chuck Pool (cpool@rice.edu) - If Tommy Bennett ever doubted that he would again experience the thrill of clinching a tight college tennis dual during his long rehab from a wrist injury, those doubts evaporated on Sunday afternoon at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
The redshirt junior shook off a second set loss to blitz LSU's No. 78 Justin Butsch 6-1 in the third set to cap a wild Rice comeback and give the Owls a 4-3 win over the 30th ranked Tigers as part of simultaneous duals between the men's and women's programs, billed "Double Trouble-II" which drew a boisterous crowd of 491 to the GRBTC.
Two years ago, Bennett ground out a three-set win over Tulane's Dominik Koepfer, currently the top ranked player in the NCAA rankings, to clinch the Rice Invitational, but his season came to a close the following week when he first injured his wrist. He sat out all of the 2014-15 season and then began his comeback last fall.
"This was really the first big match he's played since he beat Koepfer two years ago," Rice head coach Efe Ustundag said. "He's had to sit out a long time and suffer through not playing. There was a time when maybe he lost focus and where tennis was among his priorities, but to gain it back-physically and mentally--it was a big, big day for him."
"I'm so happy that I can be in that situation, "Bennett said. "I wasn't even sure at the beginning of last semester that I would be able to play this season at the level that I just played there. "
Bennett's win capped a comeback for the Owls, who dropped the doubles point as well as decisions on courts one and six to put LSU one point from clinching a sixth straight win over the Owls. But Ustundag said the Owls' gameplan was built on a belief that the middle of their lineup could turn the tide, which is exactly how the match played out.
After the Tigers took the first sets on one and six, senior Adam Gustafsson fired back for Rice winning his first set on court three, 6-3. Bennett, freshman Jake Hansen and junior David Warren were locked in tight battles, with Hansen fighting out of an early deficit to win 7-5 while Bennett and Warren had to win tiebreakers.
Gustafsson fought out of an early hole in his second set to win his match 6-3, 7-5 and secure the Owls' first point. Hansen mirrored his first set effort to take a 7-5, 7-5 win over Boris Arias to cut the lead to 3-2 and Warren needed a second tiebreak win to tie the match at 3-3.
On court two, Bennett had dropped his second set, setting up a climatic end to a thrilling day of tennis, but he wasted little time in extending the drama, racing to a 6-1 win and setting off a celebration among his teammates.
"My hat is off to each and every one of them." Ustundag said. "The guys showed so much grit today. I'm really proud of the effort they showed today, the team unity and the way they cheered for each other and the way the executed when we had to.
"We have to get back to work because this is a short week. We have head up to Ithaca, New York next week to take on two great indoor teams (Cornell and Northwestern). We don't have too much time to cherish this, but we certainly will today," Ustandag stated.
Players Mentioned
