Feb. 6, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis men's tennis program picked up a 7-0 sweep over the Eagles of Morehead State (1-1) on Friday afternoon in a make-up match originally scheduled for last Thursday. With the win the Tigers improve their 2009 record to 4-1, the best record over a five-game stretch since Tommy Buford's Tiger squad began the 1994-95 season with a 4-1 record.

"Today's match was a fun and high energy college match," said Memphis Head Coach Paul Goebel. "Our team came out very focused. We seem to be improving with every match we play. We have good momentum going in to a very tough stretch of tennis where we have to play four SEC opponents in three weeks."

The U of M came out and won the doubles point, taking a 1-0 lead over Morehead State in the match. The doubles competition was not without its struggles for the Tigers. At the No. 1 spot, Jorge Vazquez and Leon Nasemann improved their record to 4-1 in dual matches, with a defeat over Greg Anderson and Bradley Bryan, 8-5. At No. 2 doubles, Morehead State's Jerry Sundgren and Lovell Medcalf walked away with a victory over Spencer Heflin and Charlie Ramsay, 9-7. In the No. 3 slot, Benedikt Fischer and Jordan Smith upended Jason Wolfson and Dusan Milovanovic, 8-2.

In singles play, Vazquez and Sundgren played a tight match before the Morehead State player had to forfeit due to a knee injury he suffered in the ninth game of the first set. Vazquez's mark improves to 6-1 with the win. Vazquez is ranked as the 102nd-best singles player in the nation.

At No. 2 singles, Leon Nasemann went down early dropping the first set to Anderson. The Memphis freshman from Wuppertahl, Germany, fought back to take the second set over Anderson, 6-1. In a third set super-tiebreaker, Nasemann used a strong performance to edge Anderson, 10-7. Nasemann is 3-2 this season in dual matches.

Charlie Ramsay came away with a 6-1, 7-5, victory over Bradley Bryan at No. 2 singles.

At the No. 4 slot, Fischer, the team's senior captain from Dusseldorf, Germany, upended Milovanovic, 6-1, 6-0. Fischer improves to 4-1 in dual matches so far this year. He finished last season tied for the team's best singles mark with a record of 10-6 while competing at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions.

Michael Hayes continued to build on a positive start to his young Memphis career at the No. 5 singles spot. Hayes, a transfer from Brunel University in London who joined the team three weeks ago, improved to 3-0 in the line-up, with a defeat of Morehead State's Wolfson, 7-5, 6-3.

At No. 6 singles, Michael Gaerthoeffner upended Charles Hodge, 6-1, 6-1. Gaerthoeffner was tied with Fischer for the team lead in singles victories last season, posting a record of 10-8 in dual matches.

The Tigers will take to the courts in Nashville, Tenn., next Friday, Feb. 13, for a dual with the 28th-ranked Vanderbilt Commdores. The Tigers fell at the hands of their SEC-foes, 6-1, last season in Nashville. Memphis will battle four SEC-foes ranked among the Top-60 teams in the country over the next three weeks.

Memphis 7, Morehead State 0
Wellworx Sporting Club
Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 6, 2009
Singles
No. 1- No. 102 Jorge Vazquez (UM) won by defeault over Jerry Sundgren, 5-3, ret.
No. 2- Leon Nasemann (UM) def. Greg Anderson, 4-6, 6-1, 10-7
No. 3- Charlie Ramsay (UM) def. Bradley Bryan, 6-1, 7-5
No. 4- Benedikt Fischer (UM) def. Dusan Milovanovic, 6-1, 6-0
No. 5- Michael Hayes (UM) def. Jason Wolfson, 7-5, 63
No. 6- Michael Gaerthoeffner (UM) def. Charles Hodge, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1- Jorge Vazquez/Leon Nasemann (UM) def. Bradley Bryan/Greg Anderson, 8-5
No. 2- Jerry Sundgren/Lovell Medcalf def. Spencer Heflin/Charlie Ramsay, 9-7
No. 3- Jordan Smith/Benedikt Fischer (UM) de. Jason Wolfson/Dusan Milovanovic, 8-2