March 28, 2003

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - In a match that started outdoors at the HPER Courts at The University of Memphis and finished at The Racquet Club, The University of Memphis men's tennis team picked up its 10th win of the season with a 6-1 win over Tennessee Tech, Friday. The loss drops Tech to 8-8 on the season.

Memphis started off claiming the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, but the No. 1 Tiger duo of Ben Stapp and Lee Taylor Walker were upset, 8-6, by the team of Gernot Fischer and Luis Aguerrevere. The Memphis duo had just broken back into the national rankings, Tuesday, after a two-ranking period absence (individual rankings come out roughly every 2 weeks) and fall to 10-5 on the season at No. 1.

Senior Joe Schmulian and sophomore Alex Bucewicz won their No. 2 match 8-5 over the team of Razvan Ilie and William Chappell, and Tiger freshmen Alex Jago and Brendan Malarkey won their No. 3 match, 8-2, over the team of Rodrigo Cuesta and Michele Panzeri.

Malarkey then made it 2-0 Memphis when he picked up his 10th singles victory of the season and his first shut-out, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles. That No. 5 match was the only singles match that got a chance to finish outside, as rain rolled into the Memphis area and forced both teams to The Racquet Club to complete the match.

Stapp, the C-USA Co-Player of the Week, then made it 3-0, Memphis, with a 6-3, 7-6, victory at No. 1 singles. It's Stapp's second No. 1 singles victory in the past week and the senior from Sydney, Australia, has now won seven of his last eight singles matches.

Alex Bucewicz again sealed a Memphis victory with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 4. Bucewicz sealed a 4-3 Memphis victory over then-No. 61 Middle Tennessee on Sunday. After having an eight-match win streak snapped at Virginia Tech, Bucewicz has now won four singles matches in a row and is 13-3 overall and 12-1 at No. 4.

Schmulian and Jago added wins to bring Memphis' total to six points. Schmulian won his first set over Aguerrevere, 7-6, when a shot hit the net cord and rolled onto Aguerrevere's side of the court on set point. The duo battled again when the match moved to The Racquet Club, with Schmulian prevailing, 7-5. Jago again played some 7-5 sets. The freshman from Launceston, Australia, suffered a 7-5, 5-7, 11-9 victory a week ago against Georgia State, but this time fought back and posted a pair of 7-5, 7-5 wins at No. 6 to move back to the .500 mark for the spring season with an 8-8 record.

Walker was taken to three sets after winning the opening set 6-4. Ilie rallied back to post 6-2, 6-4 wins in the second and third set to post Tennessee Tech's only point of the match.

The Tigers will have a three-day break before facing Murray State, Wednesday. The Racers (5-7, 3-0 OVC), face Tennessee Tech tomorrow.

No. 55 Memphis 6, Tennessee Tech 1
Singles
No. 1 - Ben Stapp (UM) def. Gernot Fischer, 6-3, 7-6
No. 2 - Joe Schmulian (UM) def. Luis Aguerrevere, 7-6, 7-5
No. 3 - Luis Aguerrevere def. Lee Taylor Walker (UM), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
No. 4 - Alex Bucewicz (UM) def. Will Chappell, 7-5, 6-2
No. 5 - Brendan Malarkey (UM) def. Rodrigo Cuesta, 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 - Alex Jago (UM) def. Michele Panzeri, 7-5, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 - Fischer/Aguerrevere def. No. 52 Stapp/Walker (UM), 8-6
No. 2 - Schmulian/Bucewicz (UM) def. Ilie/Chappell, 8-5
No. 3 - Malarkey/Jago (UM) def. Cuesta/Panzeri, 8-2
Records:
Memphis: 10-6
Tennessee Tech: 8-8
Order of Singles Finishes: 5, 1, 4, 2, 6, 3