March 18, 2009

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis Tigers picked up two wins on Wednesday at the University of Memphis Tennis Courts to improve their season record to 12-6. The netter from the U of M began the day with a 4-0 decision over the Savage Storm from Southeastern Oklahoma State. Memphis followed up the defeat of the Division II power with a win over interstate rival UT Martin, 7-0.

"It was great to get in two matches today and to come away with wins in both of them," said Memphis head coach Paul Goebel. "It was a good chance to test our fitness with a double-header in this type of heat. I think we look good as a team heading into our matches at Boise State."

In the opening match of the day, the U of M took the early lead over the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm, taking two doubles matches to secure the doubles point. At No. 1 doubles, Jorge Vazquez and Spencer Heflin upended Kevin Longo and Alejandro Argumedo, 8-1. Vazquez and Heflin moved their 2009 mark to 6-4 mark this season.

At No. 2 doubles, the tandem of Jordan Smith and Benedikt Fischer defeated Oriol Vidal Cortes and Naman Galvan, 8-1. The Tigers were also ahead in the match at the No. 3 slot, but play was called due to the U of M having already secured the doubles point. Smith and Fischer improved to 9-8 in doubles with the win. In singles, Vazquez, the 82nd-ranked player in the nation, won 6-0, 6-1 over Longo. The Memphis netter improved to 11-5 with the victory. Vazquez has defeated several ranked opponents this season including Bruno Rosa of Rice, currently ranked 46th in the ITA rankings, and Roy Kalmanovich of Illinois, currently the 43rd-best singles competitor nationally.

At No. 2 singles, Fischer, a senior from Dusseldorf, Germany, secured a victory over Edwin Van Aerts, 6-2, 6-2. Fischer, the team's captain, brandished a mark of 8-10 following the win.

The Tigers also picked up a win at No. 5 singles to make sure they came away with the victory on Wednesday morning. Michael Gaerthoeffner, a sophomore from Rheine, Germany, defeated Naman Galvan, 6-0, 6-1.

Heading into the second match having gone 1-0 on the day, the Tigers were looking to pick up a second win over the UT Martin Skyhawks. In doubles, the Tigers won two-out-of-three matches, securing the doubles point for the men in the Blue and Gray. At No. 2 doubles, Fischer and Smith, moved to 9-10 on the season, defeating Alfredo Krywacz and Petr Markov, 8-4.

At the No. 3 spot, David Henry and K.C. Griffin played doubles for the first time during the dual season, the freshman duo upended Matthew Harris and Shuntaro Tsukiyama, 8-3. Henry and Griffin are now 1-0 this season.

The Tigers suffered a loss at the No. 1 spot, with Stephan Bruwer and Andrey Yesipov coming away with the 8-6 win over Vazquez and Heflin. Vazquez and Heflin fell to 6-5 in doubles with the loss.

In singles, Gaerthoeffner led things off picking up his second win of the day, defeating Tsukiyama, 6-0, 6-0. Gaerthoeffner improved to 10-9 with his two home victories.

The Tigers went ahead 3-0 with a win from Ramsay, a junior from Chattanooga, Tenn. He defeated Markov, 6-2, 6-1. Ramsay improved to 8-8 on the season with his win over his UT Martin foe.

At No. 5 singles, Michael Hayes battled in a tough first set to secure a 7-5 decision over Harris. The junior from London, England, took the second set and the match winning 6-1. Hayes is 8-2 in singles this season.

Having secured the win with Hayes' defeat of Harris, the Tigers looked to extend the win at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 spots. At No. 1 singles, 82nd-ranked Vazquez, a two-time C-USA Player of the Week in his first season with the Memphis tennis program, won his first set, 6-3, but faced an uphill climb in his second set with Bruwer. The Memphis senior went down early, 4-1, but battled back to come away with the victory in a tiebreaker, 7-6. Vazquez is 12-5 at the top spot for the U of M this season.

Vazquez' fellow senior, Fischer, extended the Tiger win to 6-0, with a defeat of Krywacz, 6-2, 7-5. Fischer is 9-10 for Paul Goebel's squad this season. Leon Nasemann, a sophomore from Wuppertahl, Germany, finished things off for the Tigers, coming back after losing the first set to Yesipov, 6-2. The Memphis netter won the second set, 7-5 to force a third-set tiebreaker. Nasemann upended Yesipov, 10-3, in the tie-breaker.

Memphis will next hit the courts at the Boise State Invitational on March 27 and 28.