May 17, 2003

WACO, Texas - For just the second time in the program's history, the Baylor men's tennis team has advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships. The Bears defeated No. 16 Alabama, 4-1, in the round of 16 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., on Saturday to advance in the tournament.

The victory raised Baylor's record to 28-1 which breaks the program's record for most victories in a season, set last year with 27. Also, the Bears registered their 19th straight victory, also a program single season record.

Baylor took win at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles to get on the scoreboard first. Benedikt Dorsch and Reiner Neurohr, ranked No. 29, posted an 8-5 win over Maxim Belski and Chris Gostek. BU's Matias Marin and Ivor Lovrak, playing at No. 2, beat Stephen Mitchell and Bradley Friedman, 8-6. The Bears' Mike Garcia and Benjamin Becker were leading Geoff Hiscox and William Boyles, 7-4, when play was suspended.

Alabama evened the match at one point each when Chris Gostek posted a 6-1, 6-1 win over Zoltan Papp. The righthanded Papp is competing despite suffering a spiral fracture in his right hand early last week. Benjamin Becker and Reiner Neurohr quickly countered by adding two more points for the Bears. Becker, playing at No. 1, defeated Maxim Belski, 6-3, 6-4 and Neurohr beat Christian Brodersen, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5. However, a 30-minute rain delay would add to the suspense and delay the outcome. Needling just one more point to secure the contest, Benedikt Dorsch, Ivor Lovrak and Matias Marin's matches were still undecided. Dorsch and Lovrak each won first sets in a tiebreaker but, by the time the rains came, Dorsch had lost the second set 6-1 and Lovrak was trailing in the second 4-1. Marin, on the other hand, had lost his first set, won the second and was leading 3-0 in the final set when rains began. Once back on the courts, Marin quickly clinched the fourth and final point for the Bears by prevailing in the third set 6-2 over Geoff Hiscox.

The Bears, ranked No.3 nationally and the tournament's No. 2 seed, raised their season record to 28-1. Their lone loss far this season has come at the hands of Illinois who is currently the nation's top-ranked team and the tournament's top seed.

The Bears now move into the quarterfinals, taking on Vanderbilt, a 4-1 winner over Texas A&M in the round of 16. Baylor's only other quarterfinal appearance came in 1999 when they lost to 6th-ranked Georgia, 4-3. Vanderbilt, currently ranked No. 6, brings a 25-3 record into the match. Baylor and Vanderbilt's quarterfinal match will be at 11 a.m. (CDT) on Sunday, May 18.

#3 Baylor 4, #16 Alabama 1
Doubles
Order of finish: 1, 2
1. #29 Dorsch/Neurohr, BU def. Belski/Gostek, UA 8-5
2. Marin/Lovrak , BU def. Mitchell/Friedman, UA 8-6
3. Becker/Garcia, BU vs. Hiscox/Boyles, UA DNF (7-4)

Singles
Order of finish: 3,1,5,4
1. #41 Benjamin Becker, BU def. #72 Maxim Belski, UA 6-3, 6-4
2. #2 Benedikt Dorsch, BU vs. Stephen Mitchell, UA DNF
3. #112 Chris Gostek, UA def. #44 Zoltan Papp, BU 6-1, 6-1
4. #45 Matias Marin, BU def. Geoff Hiscox, UA 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. Reiner Neurohr, BU def. Christian Brodersen, UA 6-1, 6-2
6. Ivor Lovrak, BU vs. Michael Ray Pallares, UA DNF