April 3, 2007

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis men's tennis team (7-9 overall) won its second straight match with a 5-2 win over Southeastern Louisiana (8-9) Tuesday afternoon. The match, which was originally slated to be played outdoors at Rhodes College, was instead moved to WellWorx Fitness Center due to expected rain in the Memphis area.

The Tigers jumped out early in a big way, posting shutouts at No. 1 and 3 doubles and giving up just three points in an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles.

"We were awesome in doubles today," Assistant Coach Lee Taylor Walker said. "The guys did a good job of coming out and getting after them right away."

Memphis, up 1-0 heading into the singles portion of the match, got straight set wins from Cody Loup, Spencer Heflin and Jimmy Khougassian to assure the win, but the Tigers found themselves in some difficult matches from there. Charlie Ramsay fell short, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 4 singles, and Benedikt Fischer battled to a 7-6 first set loss to Vladimir Paunic, before falling 6-4 in the second set. Amrit Narasimhan won his opening set at No. 1, 6-3, then fell 7-6 (5) in the second set. In the super tiebreak, Narasimhan and Mattieu Leboucher battled well in to the double digits, with Narasimhan battling off three set points in an eventual 13-11 super tiebreak win that gave the Tigers their fifth point of the day.

Both teams will step back on the court again Wednesday, as Southeastern Louisiana will face Murray State at 10 a.m. outdoors at Rhodes College. Memphis will face Murray State in the following match, which is set to begin at 2 p.m. Both matches will be played at Rhodes College, weather permitting.

University of Memphis 5, Southeastern Louisiana 2
Singles competition
1. Amrit Narasimhan (MEMPHIS) def. Matthieu Leboucher (SLU) 6-3, 6-7, 13-11
2. Jimmy Khougassian (MEMPHIS) def. Ondrej Krivka (SLU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Vladimir Paunic (SLU) def. Benedikt Fischer (MEMPHIS) 7-6, 6-4
4. Julien Lousao (SLU) def. Charlie Ramsay (MEMPHIS) 6-2, 6-4
5. Cody Loup (MEMPHIS) def. Jakub Kwasniewicz (SLU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Spencer Heflin (MEMPHIS) def. Olivier Zieleniecki (SLU) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Amrit Narasimhan/Benedikt Fischer (MEMPHIS) def. Ondrej Krivka/Matthieu Leboucher (SLU) 8-0
2. Jimmy Khougassian/Charlie Ramsay (MEMPHIS) def. Vladimir Paunic/Julien Lousao (SLU) 8-3
3. Spencer Heflin/Garrison Pilant (MEMPHIS) def. Jakub Kwasniewicz/Olivier Zieleniecki (SLU) 8-0

Match Notes:
Southeastern Louisiana 8-9
University of Memphis 7-9