CORPUS CHRISTI – Senior Peter Nagy upset No. 29 ranked Naoki Takeda at No. 1 singles, while juniors Javier Pujol and Ricardo Mayagoitia along with freshman Arthur Bedel garnered straight-set wins to help the Islanders cruise to a 4-0 win over Arizona (6-8) today. The Islanders (6-3) will compete in the championship match of the 49th Annual H-E-B Tournament of Champions tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. and will face No. 73 ranked Louisiana at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
"The score was a lot closer than it showed," Director of Tennis Steve Moore said. "Arizona is a great team with a great coach. We were fortunate today to come away with the win. I thought our guys did a great job on the no-advantage points and the crowd is always a huge advantage for us in Corpus Christi.
"We are extremely excited at the opportunity to battle in the finals of the 49th Annual H-E-B Tournament of Champions in front of the best tennis community in the nation here in Corpus Christi."
After topping UTSA 4-3 earlier today, the Islanders carried over their momentum to take an early 1-0 lead. Nagy, two-time reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year bounced back after suffering his first loss of the year against UTSA and took care of business at No. 1 singles. Nagy downed No. 29 ranked Naoki Takeda 6-1, 6-1 in straight-sets to put the Islanders on the board. It marked Nagy's first career win over a top-30 opponent. With the win he improves to 6-1 in the No. 1 slot.
Mayagoitia followed suit with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over David Mushayev in the No. 3 spot to tack on the Islanders' second point of the match. The junior garnered a 6-2 first-set win before earning a 6-3 win in the second set. Pujol kept things rolling in the Islanders' favor as he topped Will Kneale 6-4, 6-4 at No. 5 singles for his fourth win of the season.
With the Islanders leading 3-0, Bedel edged Shoki Kasahara 7-5 in the first-set before clinching a 6-4 second-set in No. 6 singles to capture the match for the Islanders. When the match was clinched, sophomore Kevin Bettendroffer was battling No. 100 ranked Sumeet Shinde in the third set on court two, while junior Guillaume Rauseo was locked at 3-3 with Jason Jaruvang in the third set in No. 4 singles.
The Islanders will face No. 73 ranked Louisiana tomorrow in their first trip to the finals of the H-E-B Tournament of Champions since 2013 when the team secured a gutsy 4-3 win over No. 34 Middle Tennessee to win their first H-E-B title. The Ragin' Cajuns topped New Mexico State 4-2 in the opening round before breezing past Southern Mississippi 4-0 in the second round.
"We don't talk about results, only competing like warriors and I'm confident we will do that tomorrow," Moore added. "Our guys are excited and played with great spirit today. We need all of the support we can from the city of Corpus Christi tomorrow at 12:30 p.m."
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Tennis Match Results
Arizona vs. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
3/6/2015 at Corpus Christi, Texas
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 4, Arizona 0
Singles competition
1. Peter Nagy (AMCC) def. #29 Naoki Takeda (ARIZM) 6-1, 6-1
2. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) vs. #100 Sumeet Shinde (ARIZM) 4-6, 7-5, 0-1, unfinished
3. Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) def. David Mushayev (ARIZM) 6-2, 6-3
4. Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) vs. Jason Jaruvang (ARIZM) 4-6, 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
5. Javier Pujol (AMCC) def. Will Kneale (ARIZM) 6-4, 6-4
6. Arthur Bedel (AMCC) def. Shoki Kasahara (ARIZM) 7-5, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Sumeet Shinde/Naoki Takeda (ARIZM) vs. Peter Nagy/Arthur Bedel (AMCC) no result
2. David Mushayev/Jason Jaruvang (ARIZM) vs. Kevin Bettendroffer/Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) no result
3. Matt Dunn/Shoki Kasahara (ARIZM) vs. Paul Cook/Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) no result
Match Notes:
Arizona 6-8
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (1,3,5,6)
