No. 2 Argos Get 18th Straight Victory; Advance to Semifinals with 6-1 Win Over No. 12 OBU
Simultaneous Match Points Give Argos 6-1 Victory over Ouachita Baptist
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 2-ranked UWF men’s tennis team (27-2) battled its opponents and delays to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships for the first time since 2008. After an overnight weather delay, UWF defeated No. 42 Nebraska Kearney, 5-0, in the round of 16. Later, after being delayed due to other matches, UWF tallied a 6-1 victory over No. 12 Ouachita Baptist in the quarterfinals.
“You start a match one day, and then you have to come out and play the match the next day. But, I think we came out and played well,” said UWF head coach Derrick Racine. “Then, to come right back and play another match against a very good team in Ouachita Baptist is always tough. But, the guys held in there. I think we’re looking good.”
ROUND OF 16 – #2 UWF 5, #42 Nebraska Kearney 0
The match between UWF and Nebraska Kearney was originally scheduled to be played at 5 p.m. eastern yesterday, but rain delayed the start of the match. The teams were introduced and players were warming up when the rain began. Play was delayed for an hour and 15 minutes. Once the rain stopped, the courts were cleared of water and the match was started. Doubles got underway, and West Florida took early leads at all three positions. Lightning was detected in the area and play was halted again at 6:30 p.m. Shortly after 7 p.m., the decision was made to suspend play until this morning. The Top Gun Tennis Academy, where the match was being played, does not have lights.
This morning, play resume in doubles, with UWF leading all three matches. West Florida got on the scoreboard early as the No. 2-ranked duo of Bruno Savi (Santana do Livramento, Brazil) and Kevin Ducros (Aix-en-Provence, France) quickly disposed of Yeswanth Nadella and Josh Raymond, 8-1, at the No. 1 position. UWF took a 2-0 lead as Argonauts Mike Lue (Richmond Hill, Ontario) and Domenico Sano (Macaray, Venezuela) dropped just one game in their 8-1 victory over Jack Nicholson and Revel Yehezkia at the No. 3 line. In the final match to finish, UWF’s No. 18-ranked doubles tandem of Leandro Ferreira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Andrey Pozhidaev (Sochi, Russia) tallied an 8-4 victory over Arin Enge and John Steinke at No. 2.
UWF took a 3-0 lead into singles play. At the No. 2 position, Savi, who is the No. 11-ranked singles player in the nation, blanked Nadella, 6-0, 6-0, bringing UWF within one point of the overall victory. At the No. 4 line, UWF freshman Elio Latela (Sydney, Australia) took a 4-1 lead over UNK freshman Jack Nicholson in the first set and later won the set, 6-1. In his second set, Latela went up 3-0. He later advanced the lead to 5-1 but dropped the next game. Latela bounced back to win the following game and the match, 6-1, 6-2, punching UWF’s ticket into the quarterfinals. Latela is 18-1 this season in singles. Once the team victory was clinched, all other matches were halted. The Argos had recorded first set victories at all four remaining matches.
QUARTERFINALS - #2 UWF 6, #12 OUACHITA BAPTIST 1
In the quarterfinals, UWF defeated No. 12 Ouachita Baptist, 6-1. OBU, the Great American Conference champions, defeated No. 43 Bluefield State, 5-0, this morning to advance to the quarterfinals. The Hawaii Pacific – Armstrong Atlantic women’s quarterfinals match delayed the start of the UWF-OBU men’s match by just over an hour.
West Florida won two of the three doubles matches. At the No. 1 position, UWF’s No. 2-ranked duo of Bruno Savi and Kevin Ducros easily tallied an 8-0 victory over Heige Knuth and Marvin Muller. The Argos went up 2-0 as the No. 18-ranked doubles tandem of Andrey Pozhidaev and Leandro Ferreira recorded an 8-4 victory over Ernesto Martinez and Kenny Brasil at the No. 2 line. Ouachita Baptist’s lone doubles win came at the No. 3 spot where Ramon Vazquez and Marko Boskovic handed Argonauts Mike Lue and Domenico Sano an 8-6 loss.
The Argos took a 2-1 lead into singles play. Savi once again was the first Argo to win, recording a 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 35-ranked Boskovic at the No. 2 singles position. Savi, who is the No. 11 singles player in the nation, has won 16 straight matches. At the No. 6 line, Sano blanked Teodor Valentin, 6-0, in his first set and tallied a 6-2 win in his second set to put the Argos up, 4-1. Sano is 15-5 overall this season. With no lights at the EP Tom Sawyer State Park courts, the remaining Argos battled their opponents and fading daylight. With simultaneous match points by Ducros and Pozhidaev, UWF clinched a 6-1 overall victory. At No. 1, No. 7-ranked Ducros needed a second set tiebreaker to defeat Knuth, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3). No. 20-ranked Pozhidaev dropped his first set but battled back to defeat Brasil, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 3. With the match clinched, the remaining matches were halted.
West Florida advances to the semifinals. It is the first time that the Argos have advanced to the semifinals since 2008. The Argos will face the winner of the Grand Canyon – Augusta State quarterfinals match at 2 p.m. eastern tomorrow, though the time may change due to the continuation of the quarterfinals match. The match was suspended this evening due to lack of light, with August State leading 4-2. The match will resume at 8 a.m. eastern tomorrow morning. Both men’s semifinals matches will be played at the Top Gun Tennis Academy in Louisville. Live stats, results and a recap of UWF’s match will be available on GoArgos.com. For information on all UWF Athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
#ARGOS#
#2 West Florida 5, #42 Nebraska Kearney 0
05/17/12 at Louisville, Ky. (Top Gun Tennis Academy)
NCAA Championships – Round of 16
Singles Competition
1. No. 7 Kevin Ducros (UWF) vs. Josh Raymond (UNK) 6-3, 2-0 unfinished
2. No. 11 Bruno Savi (UWF) def. Yeswanth Nadella (UNK) 6-0, 6-0
3. No. 20 Andrey Pozhidaev (UWF) vs. Revel Yehezkia (UNK) 6-1, 3-2 unfinished
4. Elio Latela (UWF) def. Jack Nicholson (UNK) 6-1, 6-2
5. Mike Lue (UWF) vs. John Steinke (UNK) 6-1, 3-2 unfinished
6. Sean Gunnels (UWF) vs. Arin Enge (UNK) 6-2, 1-2 unfinished
Doubles Competition
1. #2 Bruno Savi/Kevin Ducros (UWF) def. Yeswanth Nadella/Josh Raymond (UNK) 8-1
2. #18 Leandro Ferreira/Andrey Pozhidaev (UWF) def. Arin Enge/John Steinke (UNK) 8-4
3. Mike Lue/Domenico Sano (UWF) def. Jack Nicholson/Revel Yehezkia (UNK) 8-1
Match Notes
West Florida 26-2; National Ranking #2; South Region #1
Nebraska Kearney 18-10; National Ranking #42; Central Region #2
Order of Finish: D1, D3, D2, S2, S4
Play halted on Wednesday; resumed at 8 a.m. on Thursday
West Florida advances to the quarterfinals to face #12 Ouachita Baptist at 4 p.m. eastern today at Tom Sawyer State Park.
#2 West Florida 6, #12 OUACHITA BAPTIST 1
05/17/12 at Louisville, Ky. (EP Tom Sawyer State Park)
NCAA Championships – Quarterfinals
Singles Competition
1. No. 7 Kevin Ducros (UWF) def. Heige Knuth (OBU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
2. No. 11 Bruno Savi (UWF) def. No. 35 Marko Boskovic (OBU) 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 20 Andrey Pozhidaev (UWF) def. Kenny Brasil (OBU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
4. Leandro Ferreira (UWF) vs. Marvin Muller (OBU) 6-4, 2-2 unfinished
5. Elio Latela (UWF) vs. Ramon Vazquez (OBU) 6-4, 2-1 unfinished
6. Domenico Sano (UWF) def. Teodor Valentin (OBU) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. #2 Bruno Savi/Kevin Ducros (UWF) def. Heige Knuth/Marvin Muller (OBU) 8-0
2. #18 Leandro Ferreira/Andrey Pozhidaev (UWF) def. Ernesto Martinez/Kenny Brasil (OBU) 8-4
3. Ramon Vazquez/Marko Boskovic (OBU) def. Mike Lue/Domenico Sano (UWF) 8-6
Match Notes
West Florida 27-2; National Ranking #2; South Region #1
Ouachita Baptist 15-7; National Ranking #12; South Central Region #2
Order of Finish: D1, D2, D3, S2, S6, S1, S3
West Florida advances to the semifinals.
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