University of Washington
Stanford
Huskies Fall Short At Stanford In NCAAs
May 14, 2011 | Men's Tennis
May 14, 2011
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS • FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS
PALO ALTO, CALIF. • HOSTED BY STANFORD • TAUBE TENNIS CENTER
FRIDAY, MAY 13 - FIRST ROUND
Washington (18-8) def. Cal Poly (14-7), 4-0
(8) Stanford (19-5) def. Army (13-12), 4-0
SATURDAY, MAY 14 - SECOND ROUND
(8) Stanford (20-5) def. Washington (18-9), 4-1
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Washington's 17th-straight NCAA tournament run came to an end today in the second round at the hands of Pac-10 rival Stanford, as the eighth-seeded Cardinal earned a 4-1 victory on their home Taube Tennis Center courts. The Huskies wrap the 2011 year with an 18-9 record, saying thanks to seniors Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Tobi Obenaus, and Martin Kildahl, who led them to NCAAs in all four of their seasons.
Sophomore Kyle McMorrow earned the lone point today for the Dawgs, defeating 46th-ranked Ryan Thacher for the second time this season, this time by a 7-6 (6), 6-4 count. McMorrow's season will continue in the NCAA Singles Championships beginning May 25 back at Stanford.
The Cardinal took the doubles point to gain the early 1-0 advantage. UW's top duo of Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Kyle McMorrow, ranked 28th, were unable to upend the third-ranked tandem of Bradley Klahn and Ryan Thacher, falling 8-4. Stanford then clinched with a tight 8-6 win at third doubles, with Alex Clayton and Jamin Ball holding off Marton Bots and Daniel Schmidt. Seniors Martin Kildahl and Tobi Obenaus held a 5-4 lead at second doubles when the point was decided.
"Losing the doubles hurt us since playing on the road we knew that could really give us a lift," said Head Coach Matt Anger. "With Stanford hosting the final site they had a lot on the line and we knew they would be ready. We were up a break at first doubles but couldn't hold it, and at number three it was on serve the whole way until 6-7 and we had game point for seven-all but lost it."
Moving into singles, Stanford got the first point at sixth singles, where freshman Max Manthou, who started only sparingly during the regular season, came up short against Jamin Ball, 6-2, 6-1. Nedunchezhiyan was battling defending NCAA Singles Champ Bradley Klahn at No. 1 singles. The senior from Chennai, India gave it his all as always, but fell, 6-4, 6-4.
McMorrow's win cut into the Stanford lead to make it 3-1, but the Cardinal clinched at third singles where 71st-ranked Alex Clayton overcame 117th-ranked Kildahl in three sets. Kildahl took the first set, 6-4, but Clayton turned the tide in set two, taking it 6-3 and then pulling away to win, 6-1. The Cardinal were leading at fourth and sixth singles at the time of conclusion as well.
"I don't want to say Max was overwhelmed by the environment since he's a great competitor, but he wasn't able to do the things he needs to be successful so that got us down 0-2," Anger said. "Jeevan played great and Klahn is a tough match-up for him and for anybody, and he was so close in each set but just couldn't quite get over the hump. Then Kyle got us on the board with another great win over Thacher. Martin was up a set and a break against Clayton but he wasn't able to keep to his game plan and lost his poise."
The Dawgs had several impressive wins during the year including upsets of 10th-ranked Texas A&M and 10th-ranked California, and finished tied for third in the Pac-10 with a 3-3 record.
"We had a nice season but we had some opportunities on our schedule that we let slip through our fingers that if we had gotten those we could have set ourselves up better for the tournament," said Anger.
The season will continue for McMorrow and Nedunchezhiyan. McMorrow was selected to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship and he and Nedunchezhiyan will participate in the NCAA Doubles Championship. Those tournaments are back at Stanford starting on May 25.
Washington Men's Tennis
2011 NCAA Championships Second Round
May 14, 2011 - Palo Alto, Calif.
Taube Tennis Stadium
No. 7 Stanford 4, No. 25 Washington 1
Doubles
1) (3) Klahn/Thacher (Stan) def. (28) McMorrow/Nedunchezhiyan (UW), 8-4
2) Kildahl/Obenaus (UW) vs. Lin/Kandath (Stan), 5-4, DNF
3) Ball/Clayton (Stan) def. Bots/Schmidt (UW), 8-6
Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles
1) (9) Bradley Klahn (Stan) def. (66) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (UW), 6-4, 6-4
2) (49) Kyle McMorrow (UW) def. (46) Ryan Thacher (Stan), 7-6 (6), 6-4
3) (71) Alex Clayton def. (117) Martin Kildahl (UW), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
4) Tobi Obenaus (UW) vs. Denis Lin (Stan), 1-6, 7-5, 1-5, DNF
5) Marton Bots (UW) vs. Matt Kandath (Stan), 6-7 (3), 1-4, DNF
6) Jamin Ball (Stan) def. Max Manthou (UW), 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 1, 2, 3
Players Mentioned
