Jan. 23, 2011
HINSDALE, Ill. - The UIC men's tennis team captured the decisive doubles point, and captured four singles wins, leading to a 5-2 dual-match win over the visiting University of Chicago at the Hinsdale Racquet Club Saturday night.
"We have been working hard on our endurance and conditioning, and that's a key factor when we play tough matches like we did against the University of Chicago," said head coach Hans Neufeld.
The Flames swept the series in doubles, winning all three matches to earn the doubles point and jump out to a 1-0 lead. Freshman Alexander Raa teamed up with Luiz Gonzaga, to defeat junior Troy Brinker and junior Jan Stefanski, 8-5, in the No. 1 slot.
In the No. 2 matchup, junior Scott Shepardson and Dave Robare defeated freshmen Krishna Ravella and Zsolt Szabo, 8-6. The No. 3 slot required a tie breaker, as freshmen Rahul Kamath and Gautham Oroskar won the match over senior Kunal Pawa and freshman Neil Karandikar, 8-7 (3).
In singles play, UIC took four out of six matches. Gonzaga defeated Szabo in straight-sets (6-4, 6-2) at the No. 2 singles position. Robare overcame a first-set deficit to post a 7-6 (0), 7-6 (3) tiebreaking win over Brinker in the third slot.
Alan Reifer won his match in the No. 4 position over freshman Alexander Golovin in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Senior Nicolas Ospina won his match in three sets as well, against Ravella in the No. 5 position, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
UIC will take on Western Michigan, starting 1 p.m. CST in Kalamazoo, Mich., at Sorensen Courts/West Hills Athletic Club on Friday, Jan 28.
UIC 5, University of Chicago 2
Singles:
1. Will Zhang (UCM) def.Alexander Raa (UIC), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. Luiz Gonzaga (UIC) def. Zsolt Szabo (UCM), 6-4, 6-2
3. Dave Robare (UIC) def. Troy Brinker (UCM), 4-6, 7-6 (0),7-6 (3)
4. Alan Reifer (UIC) def. Alexander Golovin (UCM), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
5. Nicolas Ospina (UIC) def. Krishna Ravella (UCM), 6-3,4-6,6-4
6. Kunal Pawa (UCM) def. Camilo Giraldo (UIC), 6-7 (4),6-4,6-2
Doubles:
1. Raa/Gonzaga (UIC) def. Brinker/Stefanski (UCM), 8-5
2. Shepardson/Robare (UIC) def. Ravella/ Szabo (UCM), 8-6
3. Kamath/Oroskar (UIC) def. Pawa/Karandikar (UCM), 8-7, (3)
Order of Finish
Singles: 2,1,3,5,4,6
Doubles: 1,2,3
