March 29, 2015

No. 40 Men's Tennis Falls to UL, Rice; Tops Colonials 4-0 at Rice Invite

HOUSTON – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi No. 40 ranked men's tennis team finished 1-2 at the 57th annual Rice Invitational at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. The Islanders fell to Louisiana 4-3 in the opening match on Saturday before dropping a 4-1 loss to Rice in the night cap. The Islanders (12-5) then bounced back today with a 4-0 win over George Washington to conclude play.

"This was a tough weekend for the guys," Director of Tennis Steve Moore said. "Playing three teams that are consistently in the national rankings. We competed hard but most importantly we learned a lot and lessons that will prove very valuable at the end of this year. We had won our share of 4-3 matches and the law of averages says we will lose some of them too.

"I thought the guys really showed great courage and character today to come back after two heartbreaking losses with so many three-set matches and beat a very good team, 4-0. I'm very excited about April. It's fitness time and Islanders time."

The Islanders will return home to host Nicholls tomorrow in Southland Conference action at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center. Doubles play is slated for 11 a.m. Nicholls holds a 7-7 overall record and is 1-1 in Southland play.

For all the latest on Islanders Tennis, like the team on Facebook (IslandersTennis) and follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersTennis). Fans can also receive updates on both teams by downloading the Islanders Front Row App at GoIslanders.com/frontrow.

MATCH 1: LOUISIANA 4, NO. 40 TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI 3

The Islanders fell behind early after dropping the doubles point to the Ragin' Cajuns but rallied back to even the match at 3-3 in singles play. However, Damian Farinola defeated Ricardo Mayagoitia at No. 3 singles in straight sets to clinch the match. The loss snapped an eight-match win streak for the Islanders.

In doubles play, the freshman-senior duo of Arthur Bedel and Peter Nagy topped Edgar Lopez and Damian Farinola, 6-2, at No. 1 doubles for their second straight win. Louisiana however squeezed out wins on courts two and three to garner the point. The tandem of Guillaume Rauseo and Kevin Bettendroffer dropped their first loss of the season at No. 2 doubles after falling 6-3 to Jake Wynan and Will Huyton. The Ragin' Cajun's pair of Coleman Wahlberg and Jarred Wynan then captured a 7-6 (5) close win at No. 3 doubles over junior Ricardo Mayagoitia and sophomore Paul Cook to clinch the point.

No. 70 ranked Nagy quickly evened the match at 1-1 after securing his seventh straight win at No. 1 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Lopez. The senior improved his mark to 12-1 in the top slot. The Islanders then pushed ahead 2-1 after Rauseo downed Vlad Kramarov, 6-0, 6-3, in the No. 4 slot to improve to 8-4 at No. 4 singles. He has now won seven of his last eight matches.

Louisiana then pushed ahead 3-2 after Jarred Wynan defeated Paul Cook, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 6 singles and Javier Pujol dropped a close 7-5, 6-2 loss to Will Huyton at No. 5 singles. Bettendroffer then grinded his way to a 6-3 first-set win over Jake Wynan before recording a 7-6 (2) tiebreaker win at No. 2 singles to improve to 7-4 and knot the match at 3-3. Farinola then defeated Mayagoitia 7-5, 6-2 to squeeze out the win for Louisiana.

Tennis Match Results

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi vs. Louisiana

3/28/2015 at Houston, Texas

Louisiana 4, #40 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 3

Singles competition

1. #70 Peter Nagy (AMCC) def. Lopez, Edgar (UL) 6-3, 6-2

2. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) def. Wynan, Jake (UL) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)

3. Farinola, Damian (UL) def. Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) 7-5, 6-2

4. Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) def. Kramarov, Vlad (UL) 6-0, 6-3

5. Huyton, Will (UL) def. Javier Pujol (AMCC) 7-5, 6-2

6. Wynan, Jarred (UL) def. Paul Cook (AMCC) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. Peter Nagy/Arthur Bedel (AMCC) def. Lopez, Edgar/Farinola, Damian (UL) 6-2

2. Wynan, Jake/Huyton, Will (UL) def. Guillaume Rauseo/Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) 6-3

3. Wahlberg, Coleman/Wynan, Jarred (UL) def. Ricardo Mayagoitia/Paul Cook (AMCC) 7-6 (7-5)

Match Notes:

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 11-4; National ranking #40

Louisiana 12-10

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,4,6,5,2,3)

MATCH 2: RICE 4, NO. 40 TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI 1

In the second match of the Rice Invitational, the Rice Owls secured the doubles point before winning three singles matches to top the No. 40-ranked Islanders 4-1.

After winning their doubles match in the first match on Saturday, the duo of Bedel and Nagy fell 6-4 to Max Andrews and David Warren at No. 1 doubles. The Owls then notched the point after Mitchell Cook and Paul Cook dropped a 6-4 loss to Gustavo Gonzalez and Adam Gustafsson at No. 3 doubles.

A&M - Corpus Christi quickly evened the match at 1-1 after Mayagoitia tallied a 6-4, 7-5 straight-set win over Jamie Malik at No. 3 singles. Rice then answered back with three consecutive singles wins to clinch the match.

In No. 6 singles, Bedel came up short 6-2, 7-6 (6) to Gonzalez, before Pujol dropped a 7-5, 6-2 loss to Warren at No. 5 singles. The Owls clinched the match after No. 70-ranked Nagy dropped just his second match of the year in dual-match action at No. 1 singles to Srikar Alla. The senior recorded a 6-2 first-set win before falling 6-3 in the second. In the third, Alla garnered a 6-1 win to cap the match.

When the match was clinched, Bettendroffer was leading 5-2 in the third set over Andrews at No. 2 singles, while Rauseo was tied at 5-5 in the third against Gustafsson in No. 4 singles.

Tennis Match Results

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi vs. Rice

3/28/2015 at Houston, Texas

Rice 4, #40 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 1

Singles competition

1. Srikar Alla (RICE) def. #70 Peter Nagy (AMCC) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1

2. Max Andrews (RICE) vs. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) 2-6, 6-3, 2-5, unfinished

3. Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) def. Jamie Malik (RICE) 6-4, 7-5

4. Adam Gustafsson (RICE) vs. Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) 6-0, 2-6, 5-5, unfinished

5. David Warren (RICE) def. Javier Pujol (AMCC) 7-5, 6-2

6. Gustavo Gonzalez (RICE) def. Arthur Bedel (AMCC) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)

Doubles competition

1. Max Andrews/David Warren (RICE) def. Arthur Bedel/Peter Nagy (AMCC) 6-4

2. Jamie Malik/Zach Yablon (RICE) vs. Kevin Bettendroffer/Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) 5-5, unfinished

3. Gustavo Gonzalez/Adam Gustafsson (RICE) def. Mitchell Cook/Paul Cook (AMCC) 6-4

Match Notes:

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 11-5; National ranking #40

Rice 10-11

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,6,5,1)

57th Rice Invitational

MATCH 3: NO. 40 TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI 4, GEORGE WASHINGTON 0

The Islanders bounced back today in the final match of the weekend with a 4-0 win over George Washington. A&M - Corpus Christi secured the doubles point before cruising through singles play with three straight-set singles wins.

In doubles play, the Colonials pair of Cahit Kapukiran and Chris Reynolds defeated Pujol and Paul Cook, 6-1 at No. 3 doubles, before the Islanders answered with a pair of wins on courts one and two. The tandem of Rauseo and Bettendroffer downed Danil Zelenkov and Chris Fletcher, 6-2, at No. 2 doubles to improve to 7-1 in the No. 2 slot, before Nagy and Bedel teamed up for a 6-4 win over Francisco Dias and Julius Tverijonas at No. 1 doubles to garner the point.

The Islanders carried over their momentum into singles play as they quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead after Mayagoitia topped Fletcher, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles for his eighth win in the No. 3 spot. No. 70 ranked Nagy then gave the Islanders a 3-0 lead after defeating Zelenkov, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. The senior improved his dual-match record to 13-2 on the year.

A&M - Corpus Christi earned its final point of the day after Bettendroffer grinded out a 6-2, 7-5 straight-set win over Dias in No. 2 singles to clinch the match. The sophomore has now won three straight singles matches to improve to 8-4 in the No. 2 slot.

Tennis Match Results

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi vs. George Washington

3/29/2015 at Houston, Texas

#40 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 4, George Washington 0

Singles competition

1. #70 Peter Nagy (AMCC) def. Danil Zelenkov (GW) 6-4, 6-3

2. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) def. Francisco Dias (GW) 6-2, 7-5

3. Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) def. Chris Fletcher (GW) 6-2, 6-2

4. Julius Tverijonas (GW) vs. Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) 6-1, 6-5, unfinished

5. Chris Reynolds (GW) vs. Javier Pujol (AMCC) 4-6, 3-4, unfinished

6. Cahit Kapukiran (GW) vs. Arthur Bedel (AMCC) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished

Doubles competition