Men's Tennis 3/13/2013 7:48:00 PM

MEN’S TENNIS SCORES 4-3 THRILLER AGAINST MAVS

ARLINGTON, Texas – Trailing 3-0, the Radford men's tennis team put on its rally caps to prevail in the final four singles matches and capture the 4-3 nonconference victory over UT-Arlington before a raucous crowd at the UTA Tennis Center Wednesday.

Playing together for the first time this season, Stijn Meulemans and Thomas Dehaen cruised to the 8-3 triumph over Soren Goritzka and Marek Pesicka at No. 1 doubles. The Mavs (5-6) answered with wins on courts two and three to claim the doubles point and a 1-0 edge moving into singles play.

UTA extended its advantage to 3-0 after wins at the first and the fifth positions. Patrick O'Keefe ignited the comeback at the sixth flight when he dispatched Sebastian Gomez in straight sets (6-2, 6-4).

Winning for the fourth straight outing at No. 4 singles, Meulemans recorded a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Sebastian Ermicioiu to pull the Highlanders (2-5) within 3-2.

Faced with a must-win matchup on court two, Joe Mills delivered a clutch performance against Goritzka to keep Radford's hopes of a come-from-behind victory alive. The junior was flawless en route to the 6-1 decision in the first set. However, Goritzka responded with a 6-4 second-set triumph. In the deciding third set, Mills came back from being down match point to pull off a stunning 7-5 win, which squared the match at 3-all.

“We really wanted to win after losing to SMU,” Mills said. “I was glad I could come back from down match point to tie the match at 3-3 so that Thomas [Dehaen], our captain, could finish off the win. I felt we all fought hard for this win and in the end came out on top.”

Entering the match unbeaten in singles this season, Dehaen was not about to let his team down as the senior remained unblemished with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 electrifying victory on court three, which silenced the pro-UTA crowd. With the win, Dehaen improved to 5-0 this season.

Radford's next match is against Lamar on Thursday, March 14 at 3:00 p.m. (CT). The nonconference clash will resume with the Highlanders on top, 1-0, after the match was postponed Sunday due to rain.

Radford at UT-Arlington
UTA Tennis Center (Arlington, Texas)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Doubles Competition
1. Thomas Dehaen / Stijn Meulemans (RU) def. Soren Goritzka / Marek Pesicka (UTA), 8-3
2. Yauheni Yakauleu / Carlos Arbiza (UTA) def. Joe Mills / Randall Carter (RU), 9-7
3. Sebastian Ermicioiu / Javier Alvarez (UTA) def. Nicholas Sayer / Patrick O'Keefe (RU), 8-6

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*

Singles Competition
1. Yauheni Yakauleu (UTA) def. Nicholas Sayer (RU), 6-1, 6-2
2. Joe Mills (RU) def. Soren Goritzka (UTA), 6-1, 4-6, 7-5
3. Thomas Dehaen (RU) def. Carlos Arbiza (UTA), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
4. Stijn Meulemans (RU) def. Sebastian Ermicioiu (UTA), 6-4, 6-4
5. Marek Pesicka (UTA) def. Randall Carter (RU), 6-2, 6-2
6. Patrick O'Keefe (RU) def. Sebastian Gomez (UTA), 6-2, 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 5, 6, 4, 2, 3*

Match Notes
UT-Arlington (5-6)
Radford (2-5)

Print Friendly Version

Radford University Athletics