COLLEGE
STATION - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis
team suffered a 4-3 setback to No. 30 Clemson in the Islanders'
first match of the 2008 spring season.
The
Islanders held a commanding 3-0 lead, winning the doubles point and
the first two singles matches, but were unable to close out the
match. "This is a tough
loss to swallow. To be up
3-0 on a top-30 team and lose the match is really tough," head
coach Steve Moore said.
The
Islanders took an early 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point,
winning at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Mike Pavlov and Dmitry Novikov,
playing at the No. 1 spot took downed Rok Bizjak and Carlos
Alvarez, 8-5. Jose Zunino
and Laurent Montoisy closed out the point with an 8-5 win over Ike
Belk and Kevin Fleck.
Montoisy,
playing in his first-career collegiate match, gave the Islanders a
2-0 lead with a 7-5, 6-3 straight-set win over Belk. "I was tremendously impressed with the
poise Laurent showed. To
win at No. 1 singles against Clemson in his first college match
says a lot,"
Moore said.
Pavlov,
playing at No. 3 singles, gave the Islanders a commanding 3-0 lead
with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Alvarez. "Mike Pavlov really fought today. He has really matured and I
expect great things from him this year," Moore said.
Clemson
would get on the board after Bizjak took down Novikov, 5-7, 6-1,
6-2 at No. 2 singles before Fleck took a 7-5, 6-3 win over Zunino
at No. 4 singles. The
Tigers tied the match at three after Derek DiFazio defeated James
Langford, 6-4, 6-4 and clinched the match when Gera Boryachinskiy
took a 6-3, 6-2 win over Jan Cingel.
"This
match shows us that we are capable of playing at a really high
level, but we need to learn to finish better. We are going to concentrate on that
when we play No. 4 Baylor next Wednesday," Moore said.
No. 30 Clemson 4, TAMUCC
3
Singles
1. Laurent Montoisy (TAMUCC) def. Ike
Belk (Clemson) 7-5, 6-3
2. Rok Bizjak (Clemson) def. Dmitry
Novikov (TAMUCC) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
3. Mike Pavlov (TAMUCC) def. Carlos
Alvarez (Clemson) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
4. Kevin Fleck (Clemson) def. Jose
Zunino (TAMUCC) 7-5, 6-3
5. Derek DiFazio (Clemson) def. James
Langford (TAMUCC) 6-4, 6-4
6. Gera Boryachinskiy (Clemson) def. Jan
Cingel (TAMUCC) 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 4, 5,
6
Doubles
1. Pavlov/Novikov (TAMUCC) def.
Bijzak/Alvarez (Clemson) 8-5
2. Zunino/Montoisy (TAMUCC) def.
Belk/Fleck (Clemson) 8-5
3. DeFazio/Boryachinskiy (Clemson) def.
Langford/Cingel (TAMUCC) 8-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
