Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Head To Los Angeles For NCAAs
May 07, 2015 | Men's Tennis
The No. 19 Red Raiders take on UC-Santa Barbara on Friday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center in the first round of the NCAA Championships.
May 7, 2015
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- No. 19 Texas Tech has some unfinished business to take care of at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Friday, when the Red Raiders take on No. 52 UC-Santa Barbara in the first round of the NCAA Championships at Noon CT.
This is Texas Tech's second trip to the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Red Raiders defeated No. 34 Boise State, 4-0, and fell to then No. 4 UCLA, 4-1, in the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
But that was January and now it is May.
? FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Texas Tech has recorded 18 wins in the regular season for the first time since finishing the 2010 regular season 20-4.
2. The Red Raiders have not been ranked this high entering the NCAA Championship since being ranked No. 16 in 2008.
3. The Red Raiders are .500 or better at all six singles positions for the first time since 2013.
4. Texas Tech was 10-8 this season against teams ranked in the ITA Top 75 and 8-7 against teams inside the ITA Top 40. The 10 wins against ranked teams are the most since record 15 ranked wins in 2011.
5. The Red Raiders were 7-1 at home this season and 11-7 away from Lubbock, including 6-4 in neutral site matches.
? NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Texas Tech is making its 14th appearance in the NCAA Championships. It is the seventh appearance in the last nine seasons. Prior to the arrival of 23rd-year head coach Tim Siegel, Texas Tech had never been to the NCAA Championships. As a second-year head coach, Siegel led the Red Raiders to their first NCAA Championship in 1994. Since that time, 64 percent of his Red Raider teams have made it to the NCAA Championships. Texas Tech is 7-13 in NCAA Championships matches and 6-7 in the first round. This is Texas Tech's second appearance in the NCAA Championships at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Red Raiders upset No. 24 VCU, 4-1, but lost to UCLA in the second Round, 4-0, at the 2007 NCAA Championships. Friday's match against the Gauchos will mark the fifth NCAA Championship match Texas Tech has played in the state of California. The Red Raiders are 2-2 in the Golden State, losing in the second round both times. The Red Raiders have never faced UC-Santa Barbara or Florida Gulf Coast in the NCAA Championships.
? TEXAS TECH VERSUS THE FIELD
Friday's match with UC-Santa Barbara will mark the eighth meeting between the two schools. The Gauchos lead the series, 4-3, with UCSB pulling the upset in 2012. That season, No. 61 UCSB edged No. 22 Texas Tech, 4-3. If the Red Raiders get by the Gauchos, they will face either host UCLA or Florida Gulf Coast. The Red Raiders are 0-3 against UCLA, falling in the 2007 NCAA Championships and in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in 2014 and 2015. The Red Raiders and Eagles have never met. Texas Tech has only played for schools from the state of Florida -- Florida State (0-1), Miami (2-0), UCF (1-0) and USF (0-1).
? LEAGUE OF DOMINANCE
There is no stronger men's tennis conference in all of collegiate tennis than that of the Big 12 Conference. Five of the six teams in the Big 12 are ranked inside the Top 20. The Big 12 has four schools, including No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Baylor, in the Top 10. The six teams in the Big 12 Conference were a combined 99-17 (85.3 percent) in non-conference action, including going 41-13 (75.9 percent) against the Power Five conferences. The Big 12 is also the only conference that saw every school invited to the NCAA Championships, with Oklahoma, Baylor, TCU and Texas earning No. 1 seeds and hosting first and second round regionals, while Texas Tech and Oklahoma State have landed No. 2 seeds. Texas Tech heads to Los Angeles and Oklahoma State is headed to College Station.
? DEAN OF COACHES
Tim Siegel has been on the High Plains for 23 seasons and led Texas Tech to 14 NCAA Championship appearances during that span. He has been at Texas Tech longer than any other head coach and is also the longest-tenured men's tennis coach in the Big 12 Conference. Prior to his arrival, no coach had ever taken Texas Tech to the postseason. Siegel, who is 329-243 at Texas Tech, has led the Red Raiders to 18 wins for just the fourth time in his tenure. Over the last 40 seasons, Texas Tech has only won 18 matches in a season seven times.
? DOJAS & SOARES HEADED TO WACO
Junior Felipe Soares is headed back to the NCAA Individual Championships in singles, but this time he is bringing along his roommate and fellow junior Hugo Dojas, as the pair have been selected to compete in doubles. The NCAA selects 64 individuals for singles and 32 teams to compete in doubles in the individual tournament. All matches shall be the best-of-three sets. Regular scoring and a 12-point tiebreaker at six-games-all will be used for all matches. Soares, who is ranked No. 37 this season, began as an alternate last season and earned a spot in the field. The Brazilian, who was ranked No. 60 last season, lost to Texas A&M's Shane Vinsant in the first round. Soares and Dojas will enter the NCAA Championships ranked No. 22. The tandem is 14-7 on the season and 5-5 against ranked players this season, including 4-3 against Top 30 tandems. Soares' selection in the singles competition marks the 15 different time that Texas Tech has sent a representative in singles. Soares is the fourth Red Raider to make two appearances in the event, joining Bojan Szumanski, Raony Carvalho and Gonzalo Escobar. Soares and Dojas are the ninth doubles tandem to make the field in school history. The last doubles tandem of Carvalho and Escobar earned All-America honors and were national doubles finalists.
? DOJAS & SOARES HONORED
One week after being selected to participate in the NCAA Individual Championships, junior Felipe Soares and Hugo Dojas have been named All-Big 12. Soares, a junior from Santos, Brazil, was selected to the All-Big 12 singles first team and the All-Big 12 doubles first team. It is the second straight year Soares has been honored on the All-Big 12 first team. He is just the sixth Red Raider in program history to earn the honor twice, joining Bojan Szumanski, Dimitrio Martinez, Sinisa Markovic, Raony Carvalho and Gonzalo Escobar. Soares was 20-14 in singles this season, including eight wins over nationally-ranked players and a 13-11 mark against regionally ranked players. In doubles this year he is 17-7 and currently ranked nationally with Dojas (No. 22) and Connor Curry (No. 70). For Dojas, who is also from Brazil, and Soares, they are the eight doubles tandem from Texas Tech to earn All-Big 12 honors and the first since Carvalho and Escobar earned All-America honors in 2012. Dojas and Soares were 14-7 on the season and 8-5 in dual matches. The duo solidified the No. 1 spot in the rotation and went 5-5 against nationally-ranked opponents.
? YOUTH & EXPERIENCE
The Texas Tech lineup is littered with both youth and experience, as the Red Raiders start one senior (Francisco Zambon), two juniors (Hugo Dojas and Felipe Soares), a sophomore (Jolan Cailleau) and two freshmen (Connor Curry and Alex Sendegeya). Soares and Dojas have been a solid one-two punch at the top of the lineup for the past two seasons, while Zambon has played primarily No. 5 this season. The middle of the rotation is led by Sendegeya at No. 3 and Cailleau at No. 4, while Curry has moved into the sixth spot.
? LET'S PLAY THREE
Texas Tech has had 64 singles matches go to a third set this season. The Red Raiders are 34-30 in three-set matches this season. Felipe Soares leads the way with a 7-4 record, while Hugo Dojas is 6-3. Francisco Zambon has played the most. The Senior from Brazil has played 12 three-setters this season, going 6-6. In fact, Zambon is 19-19 for his career in three-set matches. Last season, Texas Tech played 56 three-set singles matches. The Red Raiders were not as lucky last season, going just 26-30 in three-setters.
? CLINCH-CLINCH
The Red Raiders played clinch-clinch in 23 of 26 matches this season. Freshman Alex Sendegeya and senior Francisco Zambon led the way with the most clinching victories this season, as each had four. Each of the other four starters each had two clinching wins.
? REACHING THE TOP 25
Senior Francisco Zambon and junior Felipe Soares are each ranked in the Top 25 at Texas Tech in career singles wins. Zambon has 56 career wins and Soares has 57. It would take 59 career wins to move into a tied for 20th in career singles wins. Alex Sendegeya and Jolan Cailleau have reached the single-season Top 10 in position wins in a dual match.
? THE SWEETEST VICTORY
In 67 years of men's collegiate tennis on the South Plains, the Red Raiders have had some remarkable victories, but nothing like what happened on Apr. 12, when the No. 23 Red Raiders stunned No. 1 Oklahoma, 4-3. Most did not give the Red Raiders a chance, especial with the Sooner lineup that featured four ranked singles players and two ranked tandems. The Red Raiders stole the doubles point thanks to a 7-6 (8-6) victory by No. 33 Hugo Dojas and Felipe Soares over No. 8 Axel Alvarez Llamas and Dane Webb. That was the key. Texas Tech then won the middle of the order while Oklahoma took No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 to make the match 3-3. Red Raider senior Francisco Zambon then defeated the previous No. 1 junior in the United States in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, to give the Red Raiders their first win over a team ranked No. 1 in school history. It was also Texas Tech's first win over a Top 5 program since Texas in 2008. For Zambon, it was the fourth clinching victory of the season for the Brazilian senior.
? LIVERPOOL LOVE
Freshman Alex Sendegeya, the former No. 1 junior in Great Britain, joined the Red Raiders in January and has made an immediate impact. The Liverpool native has won 11 of his last 13 matches and is the energy of the Texas Tech lineup. After starting the season 2-3, Sendegeya has gone an impressive 18-4 on the season, including jumping from No. 4 in the lineup to No. 3 when former No. 3 Victor Cornea turned professional midway through the season. Since Cornea's departure, Sendegeya is 13-3 at No. 3. His efforts earned the freshman a national ranking two weeks ago after he upended No. 30 Dane Webb of Oklahoma. Then he dropped Texas' No. 51 Adrien Berkowitz in three at the Big 12 Championships. He checks in at No. 117 this week. His 13 wins at No. 3 this season are the fifth most at the position in program history and the most since Rafael Garcia won 15 in 2012 at No. 3. Sendegeya's 20 wins overall this spring are tied for the fourth most in program history with Raony Carvalho (2012) and Sinisa Markovic (2007). But the 20 wins is a new Texas Tech freshman record, eclipsing the mark of 19 spring victories in 1988 by Matt Jackson.
? SOARES SOARS
Felipe Soares, a junior from Santos, Brazil, loves a challenge and he has been up for the test. Since arriving at Texas Tech three seasons ago, Soares has played all six singles positions and anchored the No. 1 doubles spot. Soares has gone 30-22 at the top two positions in the rotation. He has gone 8-12 against nationally-ranked opponents and 13-12 against regionally-ranked opponents this season. He has seen his ranking climb as high as No. 28 this season and he is currently heading into the NCAA Championships at No. 37 in the nation. He has faced four different players this season that have been ranked No. 1 -- Jared Hiltzik (Illinois), Søren Hess-Olesen (Texas), Axel Alvarez Llamas (Oklahoma) and Julian Lenz (Baylor).
? TOP 16 IS RARE AIR
This is only the fifth different season in program history that the Red Raiders have been ranked inside the ITA Top 16. Texas Tech reached as high as No. 9 in 2005, climbed to No. 16 in 2008, reached No. 13 in 2010 and spent time at No. 15 in 2011. Texas Tech began this season at No. 41 and climbed 25 spots to No. 16 last week before slipping to No. 19 heading into the NCAA Championships. The Red Raiders are 18-8 on the season. The Red Raiders have only entered the NCAA Championships ranked inside the Top 20 in 2005 (No. 10), 2008 (No.16), 2010 (No. 15) and this season (No. 19). The highest final ranking in program history is No. 12 in 2005, followed by No. 15 in 2010. The only other season to finish inside the Top 20 in the final rankings was the No. 20 Red Raiders of 2008.
? A BRAZILIAN TANDEM
Brazil has been a hotbed of great Red Raiders. Juniors Felipe Soares and Hugo Dojas are the latest tandem to give that Brazilian flair on the court. Soares and Dojas have climbed from No. 35 to No. 16 in the national doubles rankings. The tandem is 14-7 on the season and 8-5 in dual match play. The Brazilians advanced to the Round of 16 of the main draw at the ITA All-American in Tulsa last October. They also reached the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA Texas Regional Championships. Prior to this season, Soares and Dojas were just 6-8 as a tandem. What a difference a year makes. Soares and Dojas have made the field for the 2015 NCAA Individual Championships. They are the ninth Texas Tech tandem to earn the honor. Soares also landed a singles spot at the NCAA Championships for the second straight season.
? FOUR IS BETTER THAN THREE
For the two seasons prior to this year, head coach Tim Siegel was loaded with a young roster. This season that young has started to grow up. In the previous two seasons, Texas Tech was just 5-8 in 4-3 matches. This season, the Red Raiders are 6-1 in 4-3 matches, with the lone loss coming against No. 35 Clemson at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. The Red Raiders have 4-3 wins over Arizona, Rice, Auburn, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.
? DOUBLE DIP
Texas Tech is one of 15 schools to have both its men's and its women's tennis programs ranked in the ITA Top 25. The Red Raiders are No. 19, while the Lady Raiders are No. 16. Texas Tech is also just one of nine schools in the nation that has both teams ranked in the ITA Top 20 -- Baylor, Georgia, North Carolina, UCLA, USC, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Virginia.
? DID YOU KNOW?
Texas Tech is one of only 14 schools to have its men's and women's tennis teams and its men's and women's golf teams advance to the NCAAs this season in all four sports?
? FIVE PLAYERS EARN RANKINGS
Five different Red Raiders have earned individual rankings this week, led by junior Felipe Soares (20-14), who is No. 37 in singles after reaching as high as No. 28 this season. Jolan Cailleau (24-11) slipped to No. 123 heading into the NCAAs this week, while Alex Sendegeya (20-7) is the rising star with a school freshman record 20 wins this spring and a No. 117 ranking in singles. In doubles, the tandem of Soares and Hugo Dojas (14-7) will head into the NCAAs ranked No. 22. Soares is also ranked with freshman Connor Curry. The duo is No. 66.
? ABOUT UC-SANTA BARBARA
The UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos are 15-9 this season and 3-2 in conference action. UCSB won its last four matches of the season and nine of its last 11. The Gauchos won three straight at the Big West Conference Championships to earn the league's automatic berth in the event. UCSB's efforts have seen the Gauchos climb from No. 70 to No. 52 heading into the NCAA Championships.
? ABOUT UCLA
UCLA finished fourth in the Pac-12 this season. The Bruins are 15-9 this season and 13-1 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins began the season ranked No. 4 and fell to No. 21 before rebounding to No. 16 to close out the season. The Bruins were 7-3 in their last 10 matches. The Bruins defeated the Red Raiders 4-1 on Jan. 24. UCLA is 12-9 since that win.
? ABOUT FLORIDA GULF COAST
Florida Gulf Coast is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championships. The Eagles are 17-5 on the season and went 6-0 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Eagles won the regular season and A-Sun Tournament titles this season. Florida Gulf Coast went 3-2 against ranked teams this season.
Players Mentioned
