May 21, 2003
WACO, Texas - Baylor sophomores Benjamin Becker and Benedikt Dorsch advanced to the round of 32 in the 2003 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships with victories in the tournament's first round on Tuesday. This year's tournament is being held at the University of Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Benjamin Becker hit the courts first for the Bears and extended his dual match winning streak to 13 with his three-set victory over Mississippi's 30th-ranked Paul Ciorascu. Becker's dual match record now stands at 22-1 and he is 29-7 on the season. Becker, who is ranked No. 41, whipped through the first set, winning 6-1 but faltered in the second, losing 6-0. Becker bounced back in the third set, 6-4, to claim Baylor's first victory of the day. Becker will now face the tournament's top seed, Vanderbilt's Bobby Reynolds, who posted a 7-5, 6-2 win over Illinois' Phil Stolt. Becker and Reynolds were matched against each other when Baylor and Vanderbilt played in the team championships but did not finish the match. They split the first two sets, Becker won the first 7-5, Reynolds posted a 6-4 win in the second and Becker was up 3-2 in the final set when play was halted.
Next up for the Bears was the tournament's No. 2 seed, Benedikt Dorsch. The sophomore, this year's Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Year, raised his school record for singles victories in a season to 45 with his straight sets victory over New Mexico's Divan Coetzee, 6-3, 6-2. Dorsch, ranked No. 2 nationally, is now 23-4 in dual matches and 45-5 on the season. Dorsch moves on to take on Texas A&M's Lester Cook, ranked No. 31. Cook dealt Dorsch one of his five losses this season when he posted a 7-6(3), 6-3, victory in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Cook advanced to the round of 32 by beating Tulsa's Dustin Taylor 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.
Junior Matias Marin's match was delayed and eventually moved indoors due to rain. Boise State's Marcus Bernston won the first set 6-1, but the 45th-ranked Marin countered that with a 6-1 second-set win. Bernston, ranked No. 76, edged Marin 7-5 in the third set to secure the victory. Marin ends his 2003 campaign with an 18-7 dual match record, he was 31-10 overall.
2003 NCAA Men's Singles Championships
Round of 64 - Wed., May 21
#41 Benjamin Becker (BU) def. #30 Paul Ciorascu (Ole Miss) 6-1, 0-6, 6-4
#2 Benedikt Dorsch (BU) def. Divan Coetzee (New Mexico) 6-3, 6-2
#76 Marcus Berntson (Boise State) def. #45 Matias Marin (BU) 6-1, 1-6, 7-5
The doubles portion of the NCAA Championships will begin on Wednesday with 32 tandems participating. Baylor's Dorsch and Reiner Neurohr, currently ranked No. 29, will take on Mississippi's 14th-ranked duo of Alex Hartman and Claes Lindholm.
