May 19, 2011
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2011 NCAA Div. I Men's Tennis Championship Bracket
STANFORD, Calif. - An incredible upset win in doubles matches had the 14th-seeded California men's tennis team on track to a dual victory, but time ran out as the Golden Bears were edged, 4-2, by third-seeded Tennessee (24-4) in the round of 16 of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships on Thur., May 19, at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
"Tennessee is a great team," said head coach Peter Wright, "and they've got phenomenal doubles. I think going out in the singles, they really battled hard, and Tennessee, you have to really tip your hat to them. They played incredibly well. Our guys fought hard, even to the very end, there was some great tight, tight points down there. But you know, Tennessee has been a very strong team all season, and I think at the end of the day, we'll take a look back and see where we were strong, where we were weak, but we played a tough match today. Both teams were very solid."
Cal completes its 2011 campaign with a 14-8 record in duals; 3-3 in the Pac-10 for third place.
In a dramatic turn of events, the Bears returned from the brink of falling behind to square away the first point of the day with a remarkable upset victory at the top court. The Volunteers grabbed the upper hand, first, as their 72nd-ranked duo of Tennys Sondgren and Rhyne Williams raced to an 8-1 win over sophomore Carlos Cueto and senior Pedro Zerbini at court two.
At court three, senior Jonathan Dahan and freshman Ben McLachlan held a 4-2 lead over Matteo Fago and Edward Jones, but allowed their Tennessee counterparts to come back and tie the score at four-games all. On the top court, the No.1-ranked team in the nation of Boris Conkic and John Patrick-Smith had built a three-game lead over Cal's 23rd-ranked pair of junior Nick Andrews and sophomore Christoffer Konigsfeldt.
With their backs against the wall, the Bears turned on the jets to mount an incredible comeback. At court three, Dahan and McLachlan dropped just one more game en route to an 8-5 win to tie the race to the doubles point, but the Volunteers still held a 6-4 lead on the top court. Slowly, but surely, Andrews and Konigsfeldt chipped away at the Tennessee advantage and earned the break they needed to pull into a six-all tie.
The teams traded games, on serve, the rest of the way, to arrive at an eight-all tie. From there, the Bears stepped into a higher gear to earn a 7-4 win, and hand the top-ranked team in the nation just its third loss of the year and clinch the doubles point.
In the first singles match off, No. 11-ranked Patrick-Smith put the Volunteers on the board with a 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 20-ranked Zerbini at the top court. With the score tied, one-all, Tennessee seized momentum and claimed three more first sets with tiebreaker wins.
Down at court six, senior Bozhidar Katsarov had a three-game lead on Jones, but Jones fought back to snatch the first set in the tiebreaker. Jones' momentum turned into a 6-0 win in the second set as the Volunteers posted their second point for a 2-1 lead. At court two, No. 64 Cueto stayed close with No. 3-ranked Williams, but was also edged for the first set, 7-5, in the breaker. And at No. 3 doubles, No. 96 Andrews pushed the tiebreaker to extra points, but fell, 11-9, in the first set by No. 45 Sondgren.
Tennessee made a bid for the match when it went up, 3-1, off a 6-2, 6-2 victory at court four by Conkic over Konigsfeldt, but the Bears continued to battle. McLachlan brushed off a second-set loss to come away with a three-set victory over No. 80 Fago at court five, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. The win put Cal within striking distance, as it nursed a 3-2 deficit with just two matches left on court.
At court three, Andrews had forced Sondgren into a five-all tie in the second set, but Cueto couldn't hold off Williams as the Volunteer secured the 4-2 win for Tennessee on his 7-6, 6-3 win at court two. The Volunteers will move on to the quarterfinal round to face sixth-seeded Georgia (23-5), which defeated No. 11 Duke, 4-1, earlier today. Please visit www.GoStanford.com for more information.
No. 3 Tennessee 4, No. 15 California 2
Taube Family Tennis Stadium | Stanford, Calif.
2011 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships | Round of 16
Thursday, May 19, 2011
New Records: Tennessee (24-4), California (14-8)
Doubles
1. No. 23 Andrews/Konigsfeldt (CAL) vs. No. 1 Conkic/Smith (TENN) 9-8(4)
2. No. 72 Sondgren/Williams (TENN) def. Cueto/Zerbini (CAL) 8-1
3. Dahan/B. McLachlan (CAL) def. Fago/Jones (TENN) 8-5
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1* (California wins doubles point)
Singles
1. No. 11 John Patrick-Smith (TENN) def. No. 20 Pedro Zerbini (CAL) 6-3, 6-1
2. No. 3 Rhyne Williams (TENN) def. No. 64 Carlos Cueto (CAL) 7-6(5), 6-3
3. No. 96 Nick Andrews (CAL) vs. No. 45 Tennys Sondgren (TENN) DNF
4. Boris Conkic (TENN) def. Christoffer Konigsfeldt (CAL) 6-2, 6-2
5. Ben McLachlan (CAL) def. No. 80 Matteo Fago (TENN) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
6. Edward Jones (TENN) def. Bozhidar Katsarov (CAL) 7-6, 6-0
Order of finish: 1, 6, 4, 5, 2*
