University of Washington
USTA/ITA National Team Indoors
No. 11 Huskies Can't Close Out No. 7 Ole Miss , Fall 4-3 In First Round of Team Indoors
February 05, 2004 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 5, 2004
SEATTLE, Wash. -After running out to a 3-1 lead, the 11th-ranked Washington men's tennis team (3-1) lost three-straight grueling, gut-wrenching three-set matches to No. 7 Mississippi, falling 4-3 in the opening round of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships late Thursday night at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center.
With the match tied at three apiece, the deciding match came down to Washington junior Christoph Palmanshofer against the Rebel's Claes Lindholm at No. 3 singles, and ended with controversy. Serving down 5-6 in the third set, on break point Lindholm called a close shot by Palmanshofer's out. Palmanshofer and the Husky team and fans protested vehemently but no overrule would come after a conference with the chair umpire. Mississippi players hugged Lindholm at the net as the Rebels escaped with the win and a spot in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
The match was plagued with disputed calls at many positions, tainting what was otherwise extremely high-quality play from both sides. Washington's 2nd-ranked All-American junior Alex Vlaski also had his match end on a shot called wide that he would argue to no avail. Husky Head Coach Matt Anger addressed the situation following the match saying, "Obviously when you hit that many balls in that many matches there may be a disagreement. It's difficult though when the other team is questioning every single call and so eventually the umpire is going to see one their way. It's very frustrating but I don't want that to hide the fact that there were a lot of wild, crazy, incredible points of tennis played out there. Our guys fought hard, it will be hard to get over."
The Huskies took the early lead by winning the critical doubles point. The 11th-ranked duo of Vlaski and freshman Alex Slovic picked up an 8-1 win at No. 1 doubles, followed by senior Nick Weiss and freshman Daniel Chu clinching the point by winning 8-6 at the third doubles slot. Washington then built a 3-1 lead on the backs of their freshmen, Slovic and Chu, who each picked up their second wins of the day at 2nd and 4th singles respectively.
The momentum slowly began to swing Mississippi's way, however. After being down a set and 5-2 in the second, Husky junior Peter Scharler stormed back with 5 consecutive games to push his match to a third set against Fredrik Aarum, but Aarum got an early break and made it stand up. Vlaski also battled back against Catalin Gard's stellar play, but couldn't convert several volleys at his feet in crucial moments. "(Gard) played an incredible match against Alex (Vlaski)," said Anger. "Coming up with shots that are hard to do and he did it." That left Palmanshofer's marathon match, and again the Huskies fell just short, a bitter feeling for Anger. "I'm disappointed in myself right now because I was here with three upper-classmen and I pride myself on being able to pull out close matches and we lost three third sets."
It was Washington's first ever first round loss in the tournament. They were 2-0 in their two previous appearances. Moving on in earlier action were defending champion and top-ranked Illinois, 4-0 over Tulsa. The Fighting Illini ran their winning streak to 36 straight matches and next face the 8th-ranked Duke Blue Devils. No. 3 Florida, Vanderbilt (4), Stanford (5), and UCLA (6), all also moved into tomorrow's quarterfinal round, to be held all day starting at 8:00 a.m. at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center on the UW campus.
The Huskies drop into the consolation bracket to face the winner of Boise State and Baylor which went late at the Seattle Tennis Club. The match will take place at 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Washington Men's Tennis vs. Mississippi
February 5, 2004 - Lloyd Nordstrom Tennis Center
No. 11 Washington 3, No. 7 Mississippi 4
Doubles
1. (11) Slovic & Vlaksi (UW) def. Gard/Ciorascu (Miss) 8-1
2. Lindholm/Claesson (Miss) def. Palmanshofer & Scharler (UW) 8-2
3. Chu & Weiss (UW) def. DeCesare/Aarum (Miss) 8-6
Singles
1. Catalin Gard (Miss) def. (2) Alex Vlaski (UW) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
2. (53) Alex Slovic (UW) def. Paul Ciorascu (Miss) 6-4, 7-6 (7)
3. Claes Lindholm (Miss) def. (61) Christoph Palmanshofer (UW) 6-7, 7-5, 7-5
4. Daniel Chu (UW) def. Juan Dablo DiCesare (Miss) 6-3, 6-4
5. Fredrik Aarum (Miss) def. Peter Scharler (UW) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
6. Eric Claesson (Miss) def. Nick Weiss (UW) 6-2, 6-2
