COLLEGE STATION, Texas – After three hours of play and the match tied 3-3, Zack Watson (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) rallied from a set down to clinch a 4-3 win for No. 68 Radford over Texas A&M Corpus Christi in men's tennis action Friday at the George T. Mitchell Center.

The Highlanders claimed the first two doubles matches to grab an early 1-0 lead in the contest. Radford's top-seeded duo of Martin Sayer (Hong Kong/Sagemont Virtual) and Watson defeated Mikhail Pavlov and Dmitry Novikov 8-3, prior to Mehdi Benhammou (Rabat, Morocco/Descartes) and Ivan Salec (Oroslavje, Croatia/Secondary School of Oroslavje) securing the point with a 9-7 triumph in the second tilt.

In singles play, Radford (2-0) got straight set wins from Sayer (6-4, 6-3) and Salec (6-1, 6-0) in the first two matches, but the Islanders, who entered ranked No. 75, responded with triumphs at spots three through five to even the match, 3-3.

After dropping the first set 2-6, Watson bounced back with 6-3, 6-1 decisions in the second and third sets, respectively, to give the Highlanders their first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since defeating Elon on March 28, 2008.

With his win at the top singles position, Sayer is just four victories shy of 100 for his career.

“We are extremely fortunate to defeat a very good Texas A&M Corpus Christi (0-1) team, that is consistently ranked nationally,” commented Radford head coach Mike Anderson. “They entered the match very well prepared and we were fortunate to win the doubles points and get a big win from Zack in the final singles match.”

For the second time in as many contests, the Highlanders and their opponent had to battle through windy conditions.

The Highlanders will continue their swing through the Lonestar State with a 1 p.m. match against No. 18 Texas A&M Sunday afternoon before battling UT Arlington Monday at 11 a.m.

Tennis Match Results
Radford University vs Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Jan 23, 2009 at College Station, Texas (George T. Mitchell Center)

#68 Radford University 4, #75 Texas A&M Corpus Christi 3
Singles competition
1. SAYER, Martin (RADFORD) def. PAVLOV, Mikhail (TAMCC) 6-4, 6-3
2. SALEC, Ivan (RADFORD) def. NOVIKOV, Dmitry (TAMCC) 6-1, 6-0
3. MONTOISY, Laurent (TAMCC) def. BOJIC, Stefan (RADFORD) 6-2, 6-2
4. ZUNINO, Jose (TAMCC) def. OGRIZEK, Igor (RADFORD) 6-1, 6-4
5. FARRAS, Jaume (TAMCC) def. BENHAMMOU, Mehdi (RADFORD) 6-2, 6-4
6. WATSON, Zack (RADFORD) def. LANGFORD, James (TAMCC) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. SAYER, Martin/WATSON, Zack (RADFORD) def. PAVLOV, Mikhail/NOVIKOV, Dmitry (TAMCC) 8-3
2. BENHAMMOU, Mehdi/SALEC, Ivan (RADFORD) def. MONTOISY, Laurent/ZUNINO, Jose (TAMCC) 9-7
3. LANGFORD, James/PACE (TAMCC) def. BOJIC, Stefan/OGRIZEK, Igor (RADFORD) 8-6

Match Notes:
Radford University 2-0; National ranking #68
Texas A&M Corpus Christi 0-1; National ranking #75 

Match Results