May 22, 2004
TULSA, Okla. - Baylor's men's tennis team took one step closer to its quest for a NCAA Championship by defeating Rice, 4-1, in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa on Saturday morning.
Baylor raised its season record to a program-best 29-2. The 29 wins breaks the record the 2003 squad set at 28. In addition, the Bears extended their school record win streak to 21 matches. Rice ends its season at 24-4.
Battling high winds all day, Reiner Neurohr and Ivor Lovrak got Baylor its first victory of the day with an 8-5 win at No. 3 doubles, extending their win streak to 11 matches. With their 17 straight doubles win, 22nd-ranked Benjamin Becker and Matias Marin won at No. 2, also 8-5. The tandem's season record now stands at 23-2. Benedikt Dorsch and Matija Zgaga, ranked No. 20, took on the nation's top-ranked doubles tandem of William and Richard Barker. The Baylor duo led 6-3 at one time but by the time play was suspended, the twins from Rice had taken a 7-6 advantage.
Dorsch and Marin, playing at No. 1 and 3 respectively, make quick work of their Rice opponents in singles. Marin got his 103rd career singles win with a quick 6-0, 6-3 victory over Richard Barker. Dorsch, ranked No. 2, gained the Bears their third point with a decisive 6-0, 6-3 win over Robert Searle. However, Baylor's fourth point was not nearly as easy as the first three points. Freshman Matija Zgaga saw his seven match win streak halted when he lost in two sets to Haerle, 7-6(4), 6-3, giving the Owls their only point of the day. At No. 5, Neurohr took the first set 6-1 but dropped the second set 4-6 and at No.. 2, Becker lost the first set 6-4 but posted a 6-0 win in the second. Then it was a race to see who could close out their match first. Neurohr fell behind in the third set 3-0 but bounced back to take five of the next six games. With the score 5-4, Neurohr had double break point but his Rice opponent, Rajevac, bounced back to win that game to even it at 5-5. Meanwhile, Becker streaked out to a 4-0 lead in the third set before Barker won three straight games. Becker would then clinch the match for the Bears by winning the next two games. Neurohr and Rajevac's match was suspended at 6-6. Ivor Lovrak, playing at No. 6, split sets with his Rice opponent, losing the first and winning the second. Lovrak, who is undefeated when playing at No. 6 (25-0 in two seasons), was leading 2-1 in the third set when play was suspended.
Baylor has now advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships for the second straight year and third time in program history. They will take on Ohio State, a 4-3 upset winner over 6th-seeded Virginia. The match will begin at 2 p.m. (CST) on Sunday. The Bears are 0-2 in quarterfinal matches, losing to Georgia (4-3) in 1999 and to Vanderbilt (4-0) in 2003.
"We had two match points, it was impressive the way Rice fought off the match points. We expected a tough match, we expect an even tougher match tomorrow," said Baylor head coach Matt Knoll.
#2 Baylor 4, #19 Rice 1
Singles
Order of finish: 3, 1, 4, 2*
1. #2 Benedikt Dorsch (BU) def. #35 Robert Searle (RU) 6-0, 6-3
2. #15 Benjamin Becker (BU) def. #44 William Barker (RU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
3. #98 Matias Marin (BU) def. Richard Barker (RU) 6-0, 6-3
4. onstantin Haerle, (RU) def. #113 Matija Zgaga (BU) 7-6(4), 6-3
5. Reiner Neurohr (BU) vs. Vuk Rajevac (RU) DNF
6. #119 Ivor Lovrak (BU) vs. Ben Harknett (RU) DNF
Doubles
Order of finish: 3, 2
1. #20 Dorsch/Zgaga (BU) vs. #1 Barker/Barker (RU) DNF
2. #24 Becker/Marin (BU) def. Haerle/Rejevac (RU) 8-5
3. Lovrak/Neurohr (BU) def. Searle/Harknett (RU) 8-5
* clinched match
