Rice University
UTSA
Late Start Can't Stall Owls in Opener
4/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Murfreesborro, TN-The Rice men's tennis team had to wait longer than anticipated to begin their defense of their Conference USA crown, but have a three-hour delay, the Owls exploded out of the blocks to down UTSA 4-0 at the Adams Tennis Complex on Friday.
Rice head coach Efe Ustundag was pleased to see the instant energy his team brought to the court despite the delay which was caused by the moving of matches indoors due to rain.
"In any kind of tournament you are in, the toughest match is always the first, especially when you are not sure what time you are going to play," Ustundag said. "I'm just happy that when we did get on, we played with some energy in doubles right off the bat and got the point."
Rice took the early lead by capturing the doubles points with wins from its first two positions in the order. After Jake Hansen and Eric Rutledge picked up an early win, the Owls' 50th ranked senior duo of Tommy Bennett and David Warren followed with a win to give the Owls a 1-0 lead.
Bennett continued his strong play when singles began, sprinting to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Kai Breitbach, snapping a six-match winless streak in the process. The senior captain from Lewes, England had gone 0-1 with five non-decisions since defeating Max Fliegner of Dartmouth on March 18.
Jamie Malik then shook off an missed chance to close his match out in regulation by winning a second-set tiebreaker in dominant fashion to defeat Juri Reckow, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1). Malik had been winless in his last four matches since defeating Breitbach in late March.
Emanuel Llamas, who won a first-set tiebreaker, then delivered his second career clinch point in four matches at the C-USA Championship, downing Gabriel Borunda 7-6 (7-2), 7-5
With the win, the Owls (21-7) advance to face host Middle Tennessee in the semifinals tomorrow at 2 p.m. The Owls and MTSU have not met since the 2014 C-USA Championship. Ustundag knows his team will face strong test in an inspired team playing on their home courts on a short turnaround.
"The home team always plays with extra energy . We need to get ourselves physically ready and mentally prepared for a tough battle."
Players Mentioned
