Texas
A&M-Corpus Christi was impressive in the first day of the HEB
Collegiate Team Championship, taking down
Nebraska 4-1 before beating top-seeded Old Dominion 4-1. The Islanders will take on Texas
Tech in the finals at noon tomorrow at the HEB Tennis Center.
In the opening
match, the Islanders clinched the doubles point over Nebraska with
Dmitry Novikov and Mike Pavlov taking an 8-5 win over Calin Paar
and David Bendheim at the No. 1 spot. James Langford and Laurent Montoisy
clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 win over Renato Melo and
Karl Jones at the No. 2 position.
In singles
play, the Islanders' three singles wins came in straight-sets with
Pavlov taking a 6-4, 6-4 win over Parr at the No. 2 spot, while
Novikov took down Hendrik Stahmer, 7-5, 6-3. Jaume Farras, playing in his first
match this spring, defeated Melo, 7-6, 7-5 at the No. 5
position.
"This young
team really developed an identity today. They are going to outfight everyone
and never quit," director of tennis Steve Moore said. "The whole team collectively fought
with so much guts and courage. This was a special event for this
community and the people that came out really helped us get
through."
The Islanders
advanced to take on No. 37 Old Dominion, who beat Western Michigan
4-3 in the opening round.
In singles
play, Pavlov winning his match over Eidy Igarashi, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 at
the No. 2 spot, while Novikov took down Tobias Fanselow, 6-3, 6-2
at the No. 3 position.
Jaume Farras improved to 2-0 on the season with a 6-4, 6-4 win over
Matt Fawcett at the No. 5 spot.
"Our early
schedule was as tough as anybody in the nation, but we are back in
it with these two wins," Moore said.
The
Islanders will take on Texas Tech at noon tomorrow at the HEB
Tennis Center for in the championship match. Moore will be going up against his
mentor, Red Raider head coach Tim Siegel. Moore coached under Siegel where he
served as the recruiting coordinator at Texas Tech from
1994-97. "Steve has done an incredible job in just
a year and a half with this team. He has recruited well and his players
play hard which is the mark of a good team," Seigel said.
"I consider him a dear friend and
mentor. He is one of the
best coaches in the country and he taught me a lot. I was lucky to learn from one of the
best in the country," Moore said.
Noon at
HEB.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Nebraska 1
Singles
No. 1 –
David Bendheim (NEB) def. Laurent Montoisy – 7-5,
7-5
No. 2 –
Mikhail Pavlov (TAMUCC) def. Calin Parr – 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 –
Dmitry Novikov (TAMUCC) def. Hendrik Stahmer – 7-5,
6-3
No. 4 – Jose
Zunino (TAMUCC) vs. Francois Van Impe – DNF
No. 5 –
Jaume Farras (TAMUCC) def. Renato Melo – 7-6, 7-5
No. 6 – Jan
Cingel (TAMUCC) vs. Karl Jones – DNF
Order of
finish:
Doubles
No. 1 –
Novikov/Pavlov (TAMUCC) def. Paar/Bendheim – 8-5
No. 2 –
James Langford/Montoisy (TAMUCC) def. Jones/Melo –
8-5
No. 3 –
Farras/Zunio (TAMUCC) vs. Van Impe/Stahmer – DNF
Texas
A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Old Dominion 1
Singles
No. 1 –
Laurent Montoisy vs. Aleksander Seleznev – DNF
No. 2 –
Mikhail Pavlov (TAMUCC) def. Eidy Igarashi – 7-6, 6-7, 6-3
No. 3 –
Dmitry Novikov (TAMUCC) def.Tobias Fanselow – 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 –
Rodrigo Souza (ODU) def. Jose Zunino (TAMUCC) – 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 –
Jaume Farras (TAMUCC) def. Matt Fawcett – 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 –
Jan Cingel (TAMUCC) def. Yakov Diskin – 6-2, 6-1
