Rice University
Cornell
Owls End Season in NCAA Opener
5/12/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By: Tim Andrzejewski (tim.andrzejewski@rice.edu)
Waco : After almost three hours of play, Rice's season came to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of 26th-ranked Cornell at the Hurd Tennis Center on the campus of Baylor University.
Rice finished the year with a 23-8 record.
The day began with back-and-forth play as Cornell took the doubles point. After the Big Red opened with a win on court one, David Warren and Henrick Munch picked up a 6-2 win on court three. In the deciding match, Daniel Warren and Eric Rutledge fought back from a 5-3 deficit to force a tiebreak. However, with the tiebreak tied at seven, Cornell won the final two points to clinch the doubles point.
"As usual, the doubles point ended up being a big point," said Rice head coach Efe Ustundag. "We fought back and put ourselves in a position (to win), but when you fall (9-7) in a tiebreaker, it is always a bit of a letdown to fight back from."
Singles play began as Tommy Bennett and David Warren each won their first set. Bennett dominated with a 6-2 win while Warren went down 4-1 before rattling off five straight points to take the first set victory. However, the Big Red earned first set victories in matches three through six.
The Owls battled back, with David Warren winning his second set, 6-1. However, Cornell took a 3-0 lead with wins on courts five and four. Trailing 5-1 on the court three, Rutledge rattled off three straight points to get within 5-4. However, Colin Sinclair clinched the match for the Big Red, knocking off Rutledge, 6-2, 6-4.
Ustundag added, "I felt, today, that Cornell was the better team, especially in singles. They really didn't have any holes up and down the lineup. They fought well. We just got beat. We had a good year. It's always tough to lose a first round match. But, we ran into a good team. We fought and gave ourselves a chance on a few courts. But, unfortunately, it wasn't enough in the end."
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,4,3
Players Mentioned
