Sunday, March 27
Houston, Texas
11 AM
Rice University
1
vs
4
#73 East Tennessee State
Buccaneers Take Invite Title
3/27/2022 2:42:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Owls fall 4-1
In Brief: East Tennessee State captured the championship of the 63rd Ralph O'Connor Rice Invitational by defeating Rice 4-1 at the George R. Brown Tennis Center on Sunday. The 73rd ranked Buccaneers improved to 12-5 on the year while Rice dropped to 10-11.
Doubles: Rice freshmen Haoyuan Huang and Eduardo Morais evened the pursuit of the first point of the day with a 6-2 win at the third line, but ETSU struck back to grab the initial point of the day with a win at the first line.
Singles: Huang improved to 14-5 with a 6-3, 6-0 win over the Bucs' Yusuf Khamis, but ETSU packaged straight-set wins at the third, fifth and sixth lines to clinch the match and capture the team title in the school's first appearance in the event.
Efe Ustundag: We had the opportunities (at the first two doubles lines) but we couldn't covert. We didn't play brave enough in those opportunities to take it to them. We felt like we had a shot at the points at the top of the singles lineup, but ETSU is a very strong singles team up and down the lineup so we knew that the doubles point would be key. They make you work for every point. The three matches we lost in singles were by decisive margins and you have to give credit to them for coming out and playing three solid matches. They make you work for every point and they never take their foot off the gas and give you an opportunity. We were playing short-handed and Adam was out there battling through some things because we didn't have anyone else available. I would have liked to see us able to bring a full squad to the court in the finals of the Invitational.
Up Next: The Owls will be back in action on April 9 when they travel to San Antonio for a match with UTSA. The home season wraps up with a match vs. Incarnate Word for Senior Day on April 17.
Doubles: Rice freshmen Haoyuan Huang and Eduardo Morais evened the pursuit of the first point of the day with a 6-2 win at the third line, but ETSU struck back to grab the initial point of the day with a win at the first line.
Singles: Huang improved to 14-5 with a 6-3, 6-0 win over the Bucs' Yusuf Khamis, but ETSU packaged straight-set wins at the third, fifth and sixth lines to clinch the match and capture the team title in the school's first appearance in the event.
Efe Ustundag: We had the opportunities (at the first two doubles lines) but we couldn't covert. We didn't play brave enough in those opportunities to take it to them. We felt like we had a shot at the points at the top of the singles lineup, but ETSU is a very strong singles team up and down the lineup so we knew that the doubles point would be key. They make you work for every point. The three matches we lost in singles were by decisive margins and you have to give credit to them for coming out and playing three solid matches. They make you work for every point and they never take their foot off the gas and give you an opportunity. We were playing short-handed and Adam was out there battling through some things because we didn't have anyone else available. I would have liked to see us able to bring a full squad to the court in the finals of the Invitational.
Up Next: The Owls will be back in action on April 9 when they travel to San Antonio for a match with UTSA. The home season wraps up with a match vs. Incarnate Word for Senior Day on April 17.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
123
Dimitri Badra / 0 [ETSU]
640
33UF
#2 Singles Match
12
Yusuf Khamis / 0 [ETSU]
30
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Frazier Rengifo / 0 [ETSU]
66
32
#4 Singles Match
123
Hugo Lobo / 0 [ETSU]
610
72UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Juan S. Zabala / 0 [ETSU]
66
12
#6 Singles Match
12
Thiago Pernas / 0 [ETSU]
66
11
Order of Finish:
2,5,6,3
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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