Feb. 13, 2009

Final Stats

Chicago -

The 10th-ranked Baylor men's tennis team fell to the 8th-ranked and 8th-seeded Tennessee Volunteers, 4-0, in first round action of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago.

"I got to give Tennessee a lot of credit," head coach Matt Knoll said. "They really out fought us, out competed us."

The Bears, now 4-2 on the season and 15-8 all-time in National Team Indoor play, will take on 20th-ranked Pepperdine in second-round action on Saturday at 3 p.m. (CT). With the victory, Tennessee raised its season record to 6-0.

"We did not do a good job getting out of the gate," Knoll said. " We just had some guys not play well, but I got to give Tennessee some credit they are a very good team."

The loss breaks the Bears three match win streak and marks their second shutout loss of the season to a top-10 ranked team (No. 10 Florida 7-0 on Jan. 25). The Bears lost the doubles point to spot Tennessee an early 1-0 lead. From there straight-set victories by Tennessee's Matteo Fago over No. 71 Dominik Mueller 6-2, 6-2 Davey Sandergren over Julian Bley 6-4, 6-4, and No. 103 Boris Conkic over 13th-ranked Jordan Rux 6-3, 6-3 clinched the match for the Volunteers.

"They were up a break right off the bat, which put us in a tight spot," Knoll said. "Then we started playing a little better, but couldn't get over the hump."

The loss also leaves Baylor head coach Matt Knoll looking for win number 300. Knoll still sits at 298 career wins for his 14-year coaching career.

Also on Friday 16th-seeded Pepperdine lost to No. 1 Ohio State, 4-2 to setup their Saturday afternoon matchup with the Bears. The Waves are 6-3 in the spring season, but had won three in a row before losing Friday to the Buckeyes.

"We got a great opportunity tomorrow with Pepperdine and we will be ready," Knoll said.

Pepperdine is led by three ranked players: No. 51 Omar Altmann, a senior, No. 57 Mahmoud Kamel, a junior and 122nd-ranked junior Bassam Beidas.

Baylor is 6-4 against Pepperdine all-time, but fell last year to the Waves 4-3 in California.

Live stats for the matches at the ITA National Indoor Competition can be found on tournament's Web site.

No. 8 Tennessee 4, No. 10 Baylor 0
ITA National Team Indoor
Midtown Tennis Club - Chicago, Illinois

Singles
1. #50 John-Patrick Smith (TENN) vs. #21 Denes Lukacs (BU) DNF
2. #103 Boris Conkic (TENN) def. #13 Jordan Rux (BU) 6-3, 6-3
3. Davey Sandgren (TENN) def. Julian Bley (BU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Matteo Fago (TENN) def. #11 Dominik Mueller (BU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Christian Hansen (TENN) vs. #40 Attila Bucko (BU) DNF
6. Matt Brewer (TENN) vs. Maros Horny (BU) DNF

Doubles
1. John-Patrick Smith/Davey Sandgren (TENN) def. Denes Lukacs/Jordan Rux (BU) 8-4
2. Boris Conkic/Matteo Fago (TENN) def. Julian Bley/Attila Bucko (BU) 8-2
3. Christian Hansen/Matt Brewer (TENN) vs. Dominik Mueller/Maros Horny (BU) DNF

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,3,2)