Owls fall short at ITA South Central Regionals
The men’s tennis team had no player advance past the round of 16 in singles last weekend at the ITA South Central Championships in College Station, Texas. The Owls were led by the unseeded doubles duo of seniors Robert Searle and Tony Haerle, who defeated a pair of seeded teams before falling in the semifinals.
Assistant coach Efe Ustundag (Baker ‘99) said the tournament was marked by the team’s failure to execute.
“Looking back, it could have been a very, very good tournament for us,” Ustundag said. “We had the chances to win [both] singles and doubles, but we just gave them all away.”
Searle and Haerle beat Southern Methodist University’s 3rd-seeded and 52nd-ranked Federico Murgier and Peter Oredsson 8-5 and the University of Texas’ 6th-seeded and 60th-ranked Hubert Chodkiewicz and Roger Gubser 8-1 before losing to the Longhorns’ 7th-seeded Michael Venus and Travis Helgeson.
In singles action, the third-seeded Searle — ranked 24th nationally in singles — faltered in the round of 16, losing an early lead and falling to the eventual champion Oredsson in a three-set match.
“[Searle] went up a set and just disappeared in the second,” Ustundag said. “[Oredsson] played big on big points, [and Rob] just came up short.”
Haerle, seeded 12th in the tournament, lost to Texas A&M’s unseeded Conor Pollock in the third round.
Sophomore Ralph Knupfer upset Texas A&M’s 13th-seeded Brett Joelson in the second round before eventually falling to Baylor’s 5th-seeded Michal Kokta in the round of 16.
“Overall, we improved from September to October,” Ustendag said. “I’m satisfied with the tennis we played while we were [at regionals] — now we just have to keep it going.”
The only competition remaining for the Owls in the fall is the Texas Invitational, held this weekend at UT. Sophomores Hoony Shin, Filip Zivojinovic and Knupfer will be the only Owls traveling to the tournament, which was rescheduled from Sept. 23-25 due to Hurricane Rita.
After this weekend’s tournament, the Owls will begin preparing for their 19-dual-match spring schedule.
“In the spring, we have such a heavy schedule that practice sessions tend to shorten,” Ustundag said. “So, [in the off-season, there’s] going to be more conditioning and individual workouts. We have to get ready for January.”
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