University of Washington
Saint Mary's
Huskies Shut Out Gaels For Fifth Straight Win
March 06, 2011 | Men's Tennis
March 6, 2011
SEATTLE - A day after upsetting the 16th-ranked Gophers, the Husky men's tennis team brushed aside any chance of a letdown, and rolled past St. Mary's 7-0 today at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. It is the third sweep in a row for the 23rd-ranked Huskies, who improve to 11-4 on the season.
The Huskies did not drop a set in singles or doubles today against the Gaels (5-5). After doubles went to the Dawgs, 75th-ranked senior Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan put the first point on the board in singles play with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Maxime Olivan. Then sophomore Marton Bots completed a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 6 singles against Youssef El Bouzkouri for a 3-0 lead. The win is the fifth in a row for the Budapest, Hungary native.
Kyle McMorrow, ranked a team-best No. 61, picked up the clinching point with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Lucas Tirelli at second singles. Senior Tobi Obenaus was also dominant in a 6-2, 6-0 win at fifth singles against Gavin Leon.
UW finished out the sweep in the middle of the order. Senior Martin Kildahl served up a 6-3, 6-3 win over Joakim Norstrom, who had sported the best singles record for the Gaels at 7-2. Freshman Daniel Schmidt then put a capper on the afternoon with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Saad Benkirane at fourth singles.
"It's a nice three matches in a row there that we've been able to put together, and we want to keep working," said head coach Matt Anger. "We'll have tomorrow off and this next week we just have the one match so I think we can work pretty hard, and at the same time guys will get ready for their final exams the next week."
Washington took the doubles point for the fifth match in a row. The No. 1 tandem of McMorrow and Nedunchezhiyan was first to finish, as they defeated Leon and Olivan, 8-4. Bots and Schmidt then clinched the point with an 8-5 victory at third doubles over Norstrom and Steven Dawson-Roberts. The No. 2 match then went to a tiebreaker at 7-7, and seniors Kildahl and Obenaus closed out the sweep with a 7-5 win in the breaker.
The Huskies will be back in action next Friday, March 11, to take on Eastern Washington in a match scheduled for 4 p.m.
Washington Men's Tennis
March 6, 2011 - Seattle, Wash.
Nordstrom Tennis Center
No. 23 Washington 7, St. Mary's 0
Doubles
1) (38) McMorrow/Nedunchezhiyan (UW) def. Leon/Olivan (SMC), 8-4
2) (52) Kildahl/Obenaus (UW) def. Benkirane/Tirelli (SMC), 8-7 (5)
3) Bots/Schmidt (UW) def. Dawson-Roberts/Norstrom (SMC), 8-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1) (75) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (UW) def. Maxime Olivan (SMC), 6-3, 6-2
2) (61) Kyle McMorrow (UW) def. Lucas Tirelli (SMC), 6-2, 6-1
3) (71) Martin Kildahl (UW) def. Joakim Norstrom (SMC), 6-3, 6-3
4) Daniel Schmidt (UW) def. Saad Benkirane (SMC), 6-4, 6-3
5) Tobi Obenaus (UW) def. Gavin Leon (SMC), 6-2, 6-0
6) Marton Bots (UW) def. Youssef El Bouzkouri (SMC), 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: 1, 6, 2, 5, 3, 4
Players Mentioned
