Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Arizona
Arizona Rallies to Defeat Texas Tech
February 20, 2009 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 20, 2009
LUBBOCK, Texas - Despite opening the match with a 3-0 advantage, No. 40 Arizona rallied to win the final four singles matches to defeat No. 26 Texas Tech, 4-3, Saturday at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center in Tempe, Ariz.
The Red Raiders opened the match with a good start, taking two out of three doubles matches to win the doubles point. At the No. 1 position, the No. 16-tandem of Raony Carvalho and Christian Rojmar defeated No. 18 Francois VanderMerwe and Pat Metham, 8-5, to improve to 2-2 on the season, while in the No. 2 slot, Michael Breler and Sinisa Markovic upended Jay Goldman and Ravid Hazi, 8-4.
The Red Raiders continued their quick start in singles as Gonzalo Escobar routed Hazi without losing any points, winning 6-0, 6-0, in the No. 3 position. Soon after, Markovic would defeat Andres Arango in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, to give Tech a commanding 3-0 lead.
Arizona would begin its rally soon after, however, as Goldman would down Carvalho in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, in the No. 1 position and Andres Carrasco would drop Rojmar, 7-5, 6-3, in the No. 4 slot.
Jason Zafiros would tie the match for the Wildcats minutes later, giving Milos Kustudija his first loss of the season in three sets, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4. After splitting the first two sets, 7-5, 3-6, Metham would complete the Arizona comeback, defeating Breler, 6-1, in the final set at the No. 5 position.
With the loss, Tech drops to 1-3 on the season, while Arizona improves to 7-1 and extends its winning streak to five matches.
"This was as tough of a loss as I've had in my 16 years at Tech," Tech head coach Tim Siegel said. "We got up 3-0 in the match and didn't play extremely well, so deep down I didn't think we really deserved to win it. We had a couple guys not play as tough as I think they could have, but we will learn from it and get ready for tomorrow."
The Red Raiders conclude the weekend Saturday morning against the University of San Diego at 11 a.m. Tech's home opener at the McLeod Tennis Center is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Feb. 28.
No. 26 Texas Tech - 3
No. 40 Arizona - 4
LaNelle Robson Tennis Center
Singles - Order: 3, 2, 1, 4, 6, 5
1. Jay Goldman (UA) def. Raony Carvalho (TTU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Sinisa Markovic (TTU) def. Andres Arango (UA) 6-3, 6-3
3. Gonzalo Escobar (TTU) def. Ravid Hazi (UA) 6-0, 6-0
4. Andres Carrasco (UA) def. Christian Rojmar (TTU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Pat Metham (UA) def. Michael Breler (TTU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-1*
6. Jason Zafiros (UA) def. Milos Kustudija (TTU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Doubles - Order: 2, 1, 3
1. Christian Rojmar/Raony Carvalho (TTU) def. Francois VanderMerwe/Pat Metham (UA) 8-5
2. Michael Breler/Sinisa Markovic (TTU) def. Jay Goldman/Ravid Hazi (UA) 8-4
3. Andres Arango/Andres Carrasco (UA) def. Gonzalo Escobar/David Gonzalez (TTU) 8-6
Match Notes:
Texas Tech 1-3; National ranking No. 26
Arizona 7-1; National ranking No. 40
Players Mentioned
