Feb. 17, 2006

Seattle, WASH - The No. 8 Baylor men's tennis team dropped their first match in Seattle today losing 4-3 to No. 9 Duke at the USTA/ITA Team Indoor Championships.

After losing the doubles point, Baylor looked strong in singles leading in as many as five singles matches at one point, but ultimately, the doubles point was the deciding factor for the Bears.

Will Ward picked up the first win of the day for the Bears in the No. 4 spot. Ward defeated Duke's Joey Atas in two sets 6-0, 7-5, Also picking up wins for the Bears were No. 1 Lars Poerschke who defeated No. 20 Jonathan Stokke in a three-set match 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. Jon Reckewey also picked up a win for Baylor in the No. 6 spot defeating Christopher Brown in a 6-1, 7-6 (1) tie-breaker.

No. 94 Vladimir Portnov fought hard to keep the Bears alive but fell to Kiril Dimitrov 1-6, 7-5, 6-4. No. 31 Michal Kokta also took his match to three sets before falling to Peter Rodrigues 6-7, 3-6, 1-6. Matija Zgaga lost in a tie-breaker to No. 9 Ludovic Walter 6-1, 7-6 (5).

Baylor, the defending tournament champions, moves into the consolation bracket with the loss. The Bears will face No. 16 Pennsylvania tomorrow at 11 a.m. PCT at the Seattle Tennis Club. Pennsylvania is coming off of a 4-1 loss to No. 1 seeded Florida.

Duke will go on to face Florida tomorrow also at 11 a.m. PCT. Should Baylor win tomorrow, they will play again on Sunday facing the winner of No. 13 Florida State and No. 11 South Carolina.

All results and live scoring can be viewed at www.gohuskies.com. Baylor results will be posted at www.baylorbears.com.

No. 9 Duke-4, No. 8 Baylor-3
Singles
Singles Order - 4,6,3,1,2,5
1. #9 Ludovic Walter (Duke) def. Matija Zgaga (BU) 6-1, 7-6(5)
2. #1 Lars Poerschke (BU) def. #20 Jonathan Stokke (Duke) 4-6, 7-6, 6-4
3. Peter Rodrigues (Duke) def. #31 Michal Kokta (BU) 6-7, 6-3, 6-1
4. Will Ward (BU) def. Joey Atas (Duke) 6-0, 7-5
5. Kiril Dimitrov (Duke) def. #94 Vladimir Portnov 1-6, 7-5, 6-4
6. Jon Reckewey (BU) def. Christopher Brown (Duke) 6-1, 7-6(1)

Doubles
Doubles Order - 3,2,x
1. Stokke/Atas (Duke) vs. Zgaga/Galic(BU) 6-3, DNF
2. Rodrigues/Stephen Armitraj (Duke) def. Kokta Ward (BU) 8-4
3. Walter/Ned Samuelson (Duke) def. Poerschke/Reckewey (BU) 8-4