April 14, 2001
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The 36th-ranked Baylor men's tennis team ended a three-match losing streak with a 4-3 upset victory over No. 22 Alabama on the road Saturday.
Baylor's Mark Williams survived a match point at 6-5 in the third set tiebreaker and rallied for the next three points, defeating Alabama's Stephen Mitchell and clinching the 4-3 win for the Bears (9-8, 5-1 Big 12) in Tuscaloosa Saturday. Alabama dropped to 16-8 overall, 3-6 in SEC play.
For the first time this season, Baylor won the dual match after losing the doubles point. Csongor Bibza and Mike Garcia teamed to win No. 3 doubles, upping their record together to 3-0, but Alabama prevailed at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles to take the first point. Bibza's doubles win moved him into a tie for fourth-place in school history with 70 career doubles victories.
Alabama's 39th-ranked Maxim Belski was withheld from the match due to injury, moving each Crimson Tide player up a spot from his normal lineup spot. Even so, the Tide still took the top two singles positions, but Baylor used its success at Nos. 3-6 to claim the team win.
Zoltan Papp's win at the No. 5 spot snapped a six-match losing streak for the sophomore. Williams' win at No. 3 singles was the 90th of his career, placing him just four victories shy of Johann Jooste's Baylor career record.
The Baylor men are off Sunday, then play ninth-ranked South Alabama in Mobile Monday at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 14
#36 Baylor (9-8, 5-1), def. #22 Alabama (16-8, 3-6), 4-3
No. 1 Chris Gostek/Stephen Mitchell, UA, def. #18 Reiner Neurohr/Mark Williams, BU, 8-6
No. 2 Chris McRae/Susheel Narla, UA, def. Nathan McGregor/Cory Ross, BU, 9-8 (5)
No. 3 Csongor Bibza/Mike Garcia, BU, def. William Boyles/Brian Isern, UA, 8-3
No. 1 Chris Gostek, UA, def. Csongor Bibza, BU, 6-0, 7-6 (6)
No. 2 Susheel Narla, UA, def. Reiner Neurohr, BU, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 Mark Williams, BU, def. Stephen Mitchell, UA, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6)
No. 4 Matias Marin, BU, def. Chris McRae, UA, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
No. 5 Zoltan Papp, BU, def. Christian Brodersen, UA, 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 Cory Ross, BU, def. Michael Ray Pallares, UA, 6-2, 6-4
