Baylor
Texas
Men's Tennis Upsets #19 Texas, 5-2
4/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 21, 2001
AUSTIN, Texas - The 31st-ranked Baylor men's tennis team earned its first-ever road victory versus perennial powerhouse Texas with a 5-2 win over the 19th-ranked Longhorns Saturday afternoon.
Baylor (10-10, 6-2 Big 12) closed out the conference regular season with the win, which tied them with Texas (15-4, 6-2) for second place in the Big 12 Conference. The Bears won the conference title in 2000 and finished second in 1998, 1999 and 2001.
"This is a very good day for the Bears," Baylor head coach Matt Knoll said. "This win is something to build on, we look forward to getting started in the Big 12 Tournament."
The day began for the Bears with a good omen: winning doubles. Baylor is 9-1 this season when taking the opening point. Baylor's Cory Ross and Nathan McGregor quickly won at No. 2 doubles while the Nos. 1 and 3 spots each battled into tiebreakers. Baylor split the tiebreakers to take a 1-0 dual match lead.
"We jumped on them at No. 2 doubles, and that really set the tone for doubles for us," Knoll said.
In singles, the Longhorns won two of the first three points to tie the match at 2-2. At No. 1 singles, Texas' Jean Simon won his team-leading 25th match of the year, but at No. 6 singles Baylor's Cory Ross just as easily claimed his team-leading 23rd win. UT's Michael Domanski took three sets to beat Matias Marin at No. 5 singles, trying the dual match.
At the No. 3 position, Baylor's Mark Williams fell behind Texas' Ron Kloppert 4-1 in the third set but battled back to win 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Williams' win was his 20th of the year and the 92nd of his career, two shy of the school record.
"Mark fell behind and was one point away from going down 5-1 in that third set, but as he has all year, he fought hard and just refused to lose," Knoll said.
At No. 2 singles, Baylor's Reiner Neurohr went up a break on 90th-ranked Craig Edmondson early in the third set and held serve to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, clinching the match for Baylor. Neurohr's win broke a personal five-match losing streak. Zoltan Papp won his fourth straight match by finishing out the third set 6-0 for the final point.
In preparation for the 2001 Big 12 Tennis Championships April 26-29 in Waco, the Bears will play one final non-conference match Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the new Baylor Tennis Center against Texas Wesleyan.
Saturday, April 21
#31 Baylor (10-10, 6-2) def. #19 Texas (15-4, 6-2), 5-2
No. 1 Ron Kloppert/Jean Simon (UT) def. #19 Mark WIlliams/Reiner Neurohr (BU), 9-8(7-4)
No. 2 Cory Ross/Nathan McGregor (BU) def. Will Clinton/Craig Edmondson (UT), 8-2
No. 3 Csongor Bibza/Zoltan Papp (BU) def. Ryan Haymond/Alastair Jenkin (UT), 9-7(7-0)
No. 1 Jean Simon (UT) def. Csongor Bibza (BU), 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 Reiner Neurohr (BU) def. Craig Edmondson (UT), 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
No. 3 Mark Williams (BU) def. Ron Kloppert (UT), 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
No. 4 Zoltan Papp (BU) def. WIll Clinton (UT), 6-7(7-2), 6-4, 6-0
No. 5 Michael Domanski (UT) def. Matias Marin (BU), 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
No. 6 Cory Ross (UT) def. Alastair Jenkin (UT), 6-4, 6-3
