March 17, 2012
MADISON, Wisc. - After postponing its match against Olivet Nazarene on Friday due to inclement weather, the UIC men's tennis team (1-8) traveled to face Wisconsin (8-5) on Saturday at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Despite putting up a hard-fought battle, the Flames fell to the Badgers, 7-0.
"We competed well and gained some good outdoor matchplay before our Texas trip," head coach Hans Neufeld said.
Through doubles matches, UIC was unable to capture the first point of the day after falling at each position. Rahul Kamath and Alexander Raa battled at No. 1 before going down 8-3 to Alexander Kostanov and Petr Satral. Scott Shepardson and Nate Kirk competed against Alex Robles and Rod Carey at No. 2, as Maurizio Feoli and Alan Reifer took on Jack Larsen and Fredrik Ask, but both pairs fell in 8-4 decisions.
At singles, Wisconsin retired the Flames at No. 1-6 in straight set matches. James Li stuck it out with Kostanov at No. 2, as he took his first set to a tiebreaker before falling 7-6 (5), 6-3. Feoli (No. 4) fell to Satral, 6-2, 6-2, Raa went down at No.1 to Ask, 6-2, 6-3, and Reifer dropped his 6-2, 6-1 match at No. 3 to Carey. Kamath lost to Larsen, 6-0, 6-3, at No. 6, while Kirk faced Robles at No. 5 and fell 6-1, 6-2.
UIC heads to Dallas, Texas, to take on Prairie View A&M and SMU in back-to-back dual matches on Monday. The Flames face the Panthers at 10 a.m. (CT) before going up against the Mustangs at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Jewish Community Center.
Wisconsin 7, UIC 0
Doubles:
1. Kostanov/Satral (UWM) def. Kamath/Raa (UIC) - 8-3
2. Robles/Carey (UWM) Shepardson/Kirk (UIC) - 8-4
3. Larsen/Ask (UWM) Feoli/Reifer (UIC) - 8-4
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles:
1. Fredrik Ask (UWM) def. Alexander Raa (UIC) - 6-2, 6-3
2. Alexander Kostanov (UWM) def. James Li (UIC) - 7-6 (5), 6-3
3. Rod Carey (UWM) def. Alan Reifer (UIC) - 6-2, 6-1
4. Petr Satral (UWM) def. Maurizio Feoli (UIC) - 6-2, 6-2
5. Alex Robles (UWM) def. Nate Kirk (UIC) - 6-1, 6-2
6. Jack Larsen (UWM) def. Rahul Kamath (UIC) - 6-0, 6-3
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 3, 1, 4, 2
