University of Washington
Cal Poly
Huskies Roll In NCAA First Round Match
May 13, 2011 | Men's Tennis
May 13, 2011
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS • FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS
PALO ALTO, CALIF. • HOSTED BY STANFORD • TAUBE TENNIS CENTER
Tournament Central
FRIDAY, MAY 13 - FIRST ROUND
Washington (18-8) def. Cal Poly (14-7), 4-0
(8) Stanford (18-5) vs. Army (13-11) • 2:00 p.m. PT
SATURDAY, MAY 14 - SECOND ROUND
Washington vs. Winner of Match 2 • 3:00 p.m. PT
PALO ALTO, Calif. - A solid effort was needed and delivered today by the Husky men's tennis team, as UW opened up its 17th-straight NCAA Championships appearance with a 4-0 win over Cal Poly in the first round this afternoon. The Huskies (18-8) had beaten the Mustangs (14-7) once at home this season, but knew they would be in for a tougher challenge on the neutral courts at Stanford's Taube Tennis Center. Washington had to work but was leading all matches at the time of completion.
The Huskies will now await the winner of eighth-seeded Stanford which is taking on Army. Saturday's second round match is set to get underway at 3 p.m. Pacific time.
"We're very happy to get through without dropping any sets today," said 17th-year head coach Matt Anger, who has taken UW to NCAAs every season of his career. "We were familiar with Cal Poly but it had been a while since we'd seen them. Obviously our doubles was much better today than the last time we met, so that was good to see."
Back in the earlier meeting between the Huskies and Mustangs, Cal Poly surprised the Dawgs by taking the doubles point. Today would be a different outcome. 28th-ranked Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Kyle McMorrow held off 49th-ranked Andre Dome and Alexander Sonesson, 8-6. The 28th doubles win this season for both Huskies, that ties the single season doubles wins record. Marton Bots and Daniel Schmidt then clinched the point with an 8-5 win at third doubles over Jacobs and McPhee.
With a 1-0 lead in hand, the Huskies proceeded to take all six of the first sets in singles play to put CP in a big hole. 49th-ranked McMorrow had the quickest win, knocking off Sonesson, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 2 singles for his 31st win of the season. Senior Martin Kildahl, ranked 117th, then put a third point on the board with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Brian McPhee at third singles.
Washington was just one point away, but Cal Poly was fighting to stay in it and was even or leading in four second sets. But sophomore Marton Bots put a stop to things at fifth singles, as he won his second set tiebreak to clinch against CP's Marco Comuzzo, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
In NCAA tournament play, remaining matches are halted when one team clinches. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Tobi Obenaus, and Max Manthou all were up a set in their singles matches but did not get to finish out.
Tomorrow, Washington will be seeking its first NCAA Round of 16 appearance since 2006. This is UW's first NCAA win since a 4-3 victory over Texas Tech in 2009.
Washington Men's Tennis
2011 NCAA Championships First Round
May 13, 2011 - Palo Alto, Calif.
Taube Tennis Stadium
No. 25 Washington 4, No. 45 Cal Poly 0
Doubles
1) (28) McMorrow/Nedunchezhiyan (UW) def. (49) Dome/Sonesson (CP), 8-6
2) Kildahl/Obenaus (UW) vs. Bridge/Commuzzo (CP), 5-6, DNF
3) Bots/Schmidt (UW) def. Jacobs/McPhee (CP), 8-5
Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles
1) (66) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (UW) vs. Andre Dome (CP), 6-4, 4-4, DNF
2) (49) Kyle McMorrow (UW) def. Alexander Sonesson (CP), 6-2, 6-1
3) (117) Martin Kildahl (UW) def. Brian McPhee (CP), 6-4, 6-2
4) Tobi Obenaus (UW) vs. Jordan Bridge (CP), 6-4, 2-4, DNF
5) Marton Bots (UW) def. Marco Comuzzo (CP), 6-4, 7-6 (2)
6) Max Manthou (UW) vs. Sebastian Bell (CP), 7-6 (2), 4-1, DNF
Order of finish: 2, 3, 5
Players Mentioned
