Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
NCAA
Soares, Dojas Roll into the NCAA Finals
May 24, 2015 | Men's Tennis
Felipe Soares and Hugo Dojas become the second Texas Tech duo to play for a National Championship in the last four years.
May 24, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas - Amazing.
The only word that Felipe Soares could come up with when asked how he felt following Texas Tech's dominant performance in the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship.
"It's amazing," Soares expressed. "We've been working towards this tournament since the beginning of the season. I feel we have prepared ourselves very well for this and now we're just having an awesome week."
The 22nd-ranked duo made up of Soares and his roommate Hugo Dojas defeated Michigan State's Harry Jadun and John Patrick Mullane in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) on Sunday afternoon en route to the program's second National Championship appearance in the last four years.
The Red Raiders have yet to play a third set in the tournament, dismissing each opponent they have faced in straight sets, including upsets of No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 29 South Carolina, No. 1 Georgia and now No. 18 Michigan State.
"I think the energy was the key in the match," Soares said. "When we got the first point, it brought us up and we were able to finish holding the serve easy. That was the key."
The win marks the 18th of the season for the All-American pair.
Under head coach Tim Siegel, Monday's championship match will be the second tandem he has taken to the finale. In 2012, Raony Carvalho and Gonzalo Escobar finished runner-up to Ohio State.
The strength of the Big 12 Conference has never been more evident than the final of the doubles championship set for Monday, which will feature Texas Tech facing off against conference rival Texas' Lloyd Glasspool and Soren Hess-Olesen. The Horns upended Baylor's Julian Lenz and Diego Galeano in three sets 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-3) on Sunday.
"It is great because we are going to have a Big 12 [national] champion," Dojas said. "Big 12, for sure, has one of the toughest conferences in America. So, I think it is pretty good."
In the regular season, Glasspool and Hess-Olesen pushed past Soares and Dojas 6-2 in Austin before the Longhorns went on for the team victory.
Live scoring and video stream will be available at BaylorBears.com.
Final Results
#22 Hugo Dojas/Felipe Soares (TEXAS TECH) def. #18 Harry Jadun/John Patrick Mullane (MICHIGAN STATE) 6-3, 6-2
#19 Lloyd Glasspool/Søren Hess-Olesen (TEXAS) def. #8 [5-8] Diego Galeano/Julian Lenz (BAYLOR) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
Players Mentioned
