Tech Thwarts Owls
3/19/2021 3:19:00 PM | Men's Tennis
62nd Ralph O'Connor Rice Invitational
Houston: 26th ranked Texas Tech held off a fierce challenge from Rice to post a 4-0 win in the opening round of the 62nd Ralph O'Connor Rice Invitational at the George R. Brown Tennis Center on Friday. The Red Raiders can claim their first team title in five tries by defeating FAU on Saturday at noon.
Doubles: Looking to take an early lead, the Owls held slim margins on the first two lines while Tech jumped out to a 5-1 lead at three. While the Red Raiders rallied and took the set on one, the Owls staged a spirited comeback on three to close the gap to 5-4 before falling to give Tech the 1-0 lead.
Singles: Facing an uphill path to reach four points, the Owls grabbed one first set and sat at 5-5 in three other first sets before Tech prevailed in two of three and four of six in total to remain in control of the match. Jacob Eskeland and Trinity Grear picked up the Owls' wins in the first sets, Grear's coming in his first career tiebreak set.
Efe Ustundag: "I didn't feel we were at our best at No. 1 doubles. I've seen that team play at a much better level than today. We were looking good on two, leading 5-4 and serving for the set. The young boys on three came back from 5-1 to a break point to make it 5-5. In singles, we had a decent start on five of six courts and had break leads on three through six. It looked like we could take four first sets, but only took two of them. Sumit caught fire in the second to go up 5-2 in the second, but we left too many opportunities on the court. When you are playing a top 25 team and have the opportunity to win five sets, you have to do better than winning two."
Up Next: Tech will take on FAU on Saturday at noon in the second day of action in the invitational while the Rice will next take the court on Sunday when they meet their namesake Owls from FAU on Sunday at noon to close out the weekend.
Doubles: Looking to take an early lead, the Owls held slim margins on the first two lines while Tech jumped out to a 5-1 lead at three. While the Red Raiders rallied and took the set on one, the Owls staged a spirited comeback on three to close the gap to 5-4 before falling to give Tech the 1-0 lead.
Singles: Facing an uphill path to reach four points, the Owls grabbed one first set and sat at 5-5 in three other first sets before Tech prevailed in two of three and four of six in total to remain in control of the match. Jacob Eskeland and Trinity Grear picked up the Owls' wins in the first sets, Grear's coming in his first career tiebreak set.
Efe Ustundag: "I didn't feel we were at our best at No. 1 doubles. I've seen that team play at a much better level than today. We were looking good on two, leading 5-4 and serving for the set. The young boys on three came back from 5-1 to a break point to make it 5-5. In singles, we had a decent start on five of six courts and had break leads on three through six. It looked like we could take four first sets, but only took two of them. Sumit caught fire in the second to go up 5-2 in the second, but we left too many opportunities on the court. When you are playing a top 25 team and have the opportunity to win five sets, you have to do better than winning two."
Up Next: Tech will take on FAU on Saturday at noon in the second day of action in the invitational while the Rice will next take the court on Sunday when they meet their namesake Owls from FAU on Sunday at noon to close out the weekend.
Players Mentioned
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