May 25, 2003
WACO, Texas - Benedikt Dorsch continues to break new ground for the Baylor men's tennis program. Dorsch, a sophomore, advanced to the finals of the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championships with a victory over Miami's Todd Widom on Sunday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Georgia. Prior to Dorsch's run in the tournament, a Baylor player had not advanced past the round of 16.
In the fall, Dorsch became the first Baylor player to win a national title by winning the Omni Indoor National Tournament. In fact, the person he defeated for the championship was none other than his opponent in tomorrow's national championship, Amer Delic of Illinois (4-6, 7-6(7), 6-0). However, the two have split previous matches this season. Delic, the tournament's No. 3 seed, won the first matchup between the two players with a 6-4, 6-4 win in the semifinals of the ITA All-American on Oct. 12.
Dorsch, the tournament's No. 2 seed, took the first against Widom by a score of 6-4, but Widom countered, winning the second by the same score. The third set came down to a tiebreaker. Dorsch trailed early in the tiebreaker, 4-1 but scored five straight points to go ahead 6-4. Eventually the score was evened at 9-9. However, Dorsch won two straight points to claim the victory, raising his season record to 48-5.
Delic, ranked No. 3 nationally, defeated Alex Vlaski of Washington 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-3 to move on to the championship match.
Dorsch and Delic will play at 12 p.m. (CDT).
"I take nothing for granted here at the NCAAs," said Dorsch. "I was 4-1 down [in the tiebreaker] and that's kind of the point where you say 'It's getting tough now.' I had some good shots and [Widom] had some easy mistakes, which he hadn't made the whole third set."
Dorsch' s Advancement in the 2003 NCAA Men's Singles Championships
Semifinals - Sun., May 25, 2003
#2 Benedikt Dorsch (BU) def. #21 Todd Widom (Miami) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(11-9)
Quarterfinals - Sat., May 24
#2 Benedikt Dorsch (BU) def. #68 Oscar Chow (Columbia) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
Round of 16 - Fri,. May 23
#2 Benedikt Dorsch (BU) def. #49 KC Corkery (Stanford) 6-4, 7-6
Round of 32 - Thurs., May 22
#2 Benedikt Dorsch (BU) def. #31 Lester Cook (Texas A&M) 7-5, 6-2
Round of 64 - Wed., May 21
#2 Benedikt Dorsch (BU) def. Divan Coetzee (New Mexico) 6-3, 6-2
The championship match will be televised on a delayed basis. It will air on ESPN on Tuesday at 1 p.m. (CDT).
