ROCK HILL, S.C. – With two of the singles matches in the third set, Radford's Zack Watson (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) held off Daniel Daudt to lead the top-seeded Highlanders to a 4-1 victory over Winthrop and their third straight Big South Men's Tennis Championship Saturday at Memorial Courts.

The win was the seventh straight and 13th in the last 14 matches for the Highlanders as they advance to their third NCAA Tournament in as many years with a 20-3 record. The second-seeded Eagles conclude their 2009 campaign 10-11 overall.

“Sometimes as a favorite it's very difficult to win and that proved true today against a very good Winthrop team,” commented Radford head coach Mike Anderson. “Preparation and training paid off this afternoon.” 

After finding themselves down a break early in the match, Ivan Salec (Oroslavje, Croatia/Oroslavje Secondary) and Mehdi Benhammou (Rabat, Morocco/Descartes) won eight of the next 10 games to put the Highlanders one win away from their 20th doubles point of the spring. It was the 13th straight victory for Salec and Benhammou as they upped their record to a team-best 19-3 as a duo. 

Just minutes after court two was decided, the freshmen tandem of Igor Ogrizek (Daruvar, Croatia/Birotechnika Grammar) and Stefan Bojic (Novi Sad, Serbia) gave Radford the early 1-0 advantage with an 8-3 triumph over Arthur Takahashi and Diego Toledo.

The Highlanders' Martin Sayer (Hong Kong/Sagemont Virtual) and Watson, who entered 52nd in the most recent ITA rankings, were up 7-4 at the top spot before the doubles portion was clinched by Ogrizek and Bojic.

Sayer, who was named the Big South Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career on Wednesday evening, put his club up 2-0 with an impressive 6-0, 6-0 victory over Winthrop's Roy Sichel. For Sayer, the 91st ranked player in the nation, it was his 20th singles win of the season and the 114th of his career.

Winthrop's Nadav Ruppin cut the deficit to 2-1 with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Bojic at the third spot, but Benhammou put Radford back in front by two (3-1) and one win away from the title with a straight-set (6-3, 6-2) decision of his own on court four.

“We will relax and enjoy the fruits of our victory and get ready for the NCAA Tournament,” said the four-time Big South Coach of the Year.

The seedings, pairings and sites for the 2009 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament will be released Tuesday, April 28 on ESPNews. Singles and doubles selections will be announced the following day.

#50 Radford University 4, Winthrop 1
Apr 18, 2009 at Rock Hill, S.C. (Memorial Courts)
Singles competition
1. #91 SAYER, Martin (RADFORD) def. SICHEL, Roy (WIN) 6-0, 6-0
2. BELOV, Sergey (WIN) vs. SALEC, Ivan (RADFORD) 2-6, 7-5, 1-0, unfinished
3. RUPPIN, Nadav (WIN) def. BOJIC, Stefan (RADFORD) 6-3, 6-2
4. BENHAMMOU, Mehdi (RADFORD) def. TOLEDO, Diego (WIN) 6-3, 6-2
5. TAKAHASHI, Arthur (WIN) vs. OGRIZEK, Igor (RADFORD) 1-6, 6-4, 3-0, unfinished
6. WATSON, Zack (RADFORD) def. DAUDT, Daniel (WIN) 6-4, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. BELOV, Sergey/DAUDT, Daniel (WIN) vs. #52 SAYER, Martin/WATSON, Zack (RADFORD) 4-7, unfinished
2. SALEC, Ivan/BENHAMMOU, Mehdi (RADFORD) def. RUPPIN, Nadav/SICHEL, Roy (WIN) 8-4
3. OGRIZEK, Igor/BOJIC, Stefan (RADFORD) def. TAKAHASHI, Arthur/TOLEDO, Diego (WIN) 8-3

Match Notes:
Radford University 20-3; National ranking #50
Winthrop 10-11
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,3,4,6)