Match Results

BLACKSBURG, Va. – No. 56 Radford ran its winning streak to six straight with a 6-1 triumph over George Washington in men's tennis action Saturday afternoon at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on the Virginia Tech campus.

The victory was also the Highlanders' 11 in their last 12 matches as they improve to 13-2 overall, while the Colonials fall to 5-7. 

Radford continued its strong doubles play and won the point for the 12th consecutive outing to go up 1-0 in the match. Through 15 contests this season, the Highlanders have won the doubles point in all but one match, while recording a 38-7 (.844) record.

Radford's No. 2 tandem of Ivan Salec (Oroslavje, Croatia/Oroslavje Secondary) and Mehdi Benhammou (Rabat, Morocco/Descartes) opened doubles competition with an impressive 8-3 victory over Yan Levinski and Chris Kushma.

Igor Ogrizek (Daruvar, Croatia/Birotechnika Grammar) and Stefan Bojic (Novi Sad, Serbia) secured the point and put the Highlanders one win away from its 11th doubles sweep of the year and seventh consecutive by defeating Erik Hannah and Arya Vayghan, 8-5.

Trailing 5-4 on court one, Martin Sayer (Hong Kong/Sagemont Virtual) and Zack Watson (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) rallied for a 9-7 win to run their winning streak to 12 consecutive. Ranked 50th nationally, the Highlanders' top duo moved to 13-1 on the season and 35-7 since teaming up in 2007.

Sayer, who entered this afternoon's match ranked 120th nationally, put the first singles point on the board for Radford with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Ugar Atalay. In his last six matches, all wins, the three-time Big South Player of the Year has only lost 12 games, while improving to 13-2 on the year.

The Highlanders' clinched the match with straight set wins from Watson (6-1, 6-4) and Ogrizek (6-1, 6-3) at the sixth and fifth positions, respectively. Radford also got straight-set singles victories from Salec (6-4, 6-0) and Bojic (6-3, 6-3).

The Colonials only win came in the most competitive match of the day. Kushma needed an extra set to defeat Benhammou 5-7, 7-6 (3), 10-8. With the dual already decided, the third set was determined by a 10-point tiebreaker.

Prior to closing the regular season with six straight home matches, the Highlanders will conclude their road slate with a 2 p.m. contest at Elon Sunday afternoon.

#56 Radford University 6, George Washington 1
Mar 28, 2009 at Blacksburg, Va. (Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #120 SAYER, Martin (RADFORD) def. Ugur Atalay (GW) 6-1, 6-2
2. SALEC, Ivan (RADFORD) def. Yan Levinski (GW) 6-4, 6-0
3. BOJIC, Stefan (RADFORD) def. Erik Hannah (GW) 6-3, 6-3
4. Chris Kushma (GW) def. BENHAMMOU, Mehdi (RADFORD) 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 10-8
5. OGRIZEK, Igor (RADFORD) def. Arya Vayghan (GW) 6-1, 6-3
6. WATSON, Zack (RADFORD) def. Richard Blumenfeld (GW) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. #50 SAYER, Martin/WATSON, Zack (RADFORD) def. Ugur Atalay/Richard Blumenfeld (GW) 9-7
2. SALEC, Ivan/BENHAMMOU, Mehdi (RADFORD) def. Yan Levinski/Chris Kushma (GW) 8-3
3. OGRIZEK, Igor/BOJIC, Stefan (RADFORD) def. Arya Vayghan/Erik Hannah (GW) 8-5

Match Notes:
George Washington 5-7
Radford University 13-2; National ranking #56
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,6,5,2,3,4)
Singles match No. 4 was decided by a third-set tiebreaker.