May 9, 2003

Final Stats

WACO, Texas - Baylor's men's tennis team struggled but finally posted a 4-3 victory over UT-Arlington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on a windy Friday night at the Baylor Tennis Center. The Bears will now face TCU, a 4-1 winner over SMU, in the second round on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Baylor head coach Matt Knoll due to a hand injury to senior Zoltan Papp, had to juggle his lineup for the evening. Benedikt Dorsch and Reiner Neurohr, playing at No. 1 for Baylor, posted an impressive 8-1 victory over Nathan McGregor and Sandy Farquharson. However, that would be Baylor's only win in doubles. At No. 2 UTA's David Corrie and Niels Buksik handed Mike Garcia and Matias Marin their first doubles loss of the season in five matches, 8-4. Jason Gould and Ivor Lovrak, playing together for just the second time this season, lost at No. 3, 9-7, to UTA's Javier Carillo and Alon Goldshuv in a match that lasted and hour and a half.

In singles, five Baylor players won first sets. Benedikt Dorsch, Ivor Lovrak and Reiner Neurohr ended their match in two sets to give the Bears a 3-1 lead. BU senior Mike Garcia lost at No. 5, 6-3, 6-4 and Jason Gould, playing just his second dual match of the season, was defeated at No. 6 in three sets.

The pressure was then on Baylor's Matias Marin, playing at No. 2. After winning the first set 6-4, Marin fell behind in the second set to David Corrie, 5-3. But, the gutsy junior refused to give up, especially with the match on the line. He battled back and tied the match at 6-6 then won the tiebreaker 7-2 to hand the Bears the win.

"It's great to be at home and have the advantage. I don't care if the match is 4-0, we just want to advance. Tomorrow is another day, and that's exciting," said Knoll. "Matias is a tough competitor who made shots. He was down in the second set and fortunately, we had a guy like him in there."

The victory raised Baylor winning streak to 18 matches. They are now 26-1 on the season. Ivor Lovrak, a freshman, kept his winning streak alive, it now stands at 19, he is undefeated in dual match play this season. UT-Arlington ends their 2003 campaign with a record of 12-11.

No. 3 Baylor 4, UT-Arlington 3
Doubles:
Order of finish: 1,2,3
No. 1: #29 Benedikt Dorsch/Reiner Nuerohr (BU) def. Nathan McGregor/Sandy Farquharson (UTA) 8-1
No. 2: David Corrie/Niels Buksik (UTA) def. Matias Marin/Mike Garcia (BU) 8-4
No. 3: Javier Carillo/Alon Goldshuv (UTA) def. Jason Gould/Ivor Lovrak (BU) 9-7

Singles
Order of finish: 4, 1, 3, 5, 6, 2
No. 1: #2 Benedikt Dorsch (BU) def. Nathan McGregor (UTA) 6-0, 6-1
No. 2: #45 Matias Marin (BU) def. David Corrie (UTA) 6-4, 7-6(2)
No. 3: Reiner Neurohr (BU) def. Javier Carillo (UTA) 6-3, 6-1
No. 4: #97 Ivor Lovrak (BU) def. Niels Buksik (UTA) 6-0, 6-2
No. 5: Sandy Farquharson (UTA) def. Mike Garcia (BU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 6: Ian Vazquez (UTA) def. Jason Gould (BU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

Baylor - 26-1
UT-Arlington - 12-11
Length of match - 3:34
Attendance - 394