Home Opener Thriller; AC Falls 5-4 to UT-Dallas
Young, talented squad falls in final match to tough Comet Squad
SHERMAN, Tex. – In their home opener, the Austin College Men's Tennis team did not disappoint their fans, providing a 5-hour, 30-minute thriller. The match went the way of the Comets by a score of 5-4, but much encouragement and enthusiasm around the program's development remained.
Austin College found themselves up 2-1 after doubles with wins from Kenneth Hardy/Siddharth Kortikere 9-7 and Erik Meendsen/Josh Granberry 8-6 at Lines 1 and 3. Hardy and Kortikere were behind 3-6 and won 6 of the last 7 games against their opponents.
Kortikere continued his strong spring debut as he cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory at Line 4 singles. Meendsen, Granberry, and Pieter Cabato would fall in straight sets to give UT-Dallas a 4-3 lead with two matches remaining.
The match of the day was Line 2 singles, as Kenneth Hardy would defeat Hrudhay Ravula 9-7 in a tiebreaker in the third set to level the match at 4-4. Hardy saved several match points including returning at 7-6 in the 'breaker, winning three straight points to win the match on a big backhand passing shot.
Just as Hardy finished his final point, Preston Glasscock started his third and final set at Line 6 singles under the lights at the Russell Tennis Center.
UT-Dallas played a great third set at Line 6 and emerged victorious. Austin College returns to the courts on the road against Centenary College and East Texas Baptist University on Saturday, February 18th at 9am and 2pm in Shreveport, LA and Marshall, TX.
Austin College 4, University of Texas – Dallas 5
Elizabeth Russell Tennis Center
Sherman, TX
2/12/17
Singles Competition
1. Christian Duarte (UTD) def. Josh Granberry (AC) 6-2, 6-4
2. Kenneth Hardy (AC) def. Hrudhay Ravula (UTD) 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (7)
3. Mario Jelev (UTD) def. Erik Meendsen (AC) 6-2, 6-2
4. Siddharth Kortikere (AC) def. Ryan Morton (UTD) 6-3, 6-1
5. Eric Chen (UTD) def. Pieter Jon Cabato (AC) 6-4, 6-2
6. Ashwin Vaithianathan (UTD) def. Preston Glasscock (AC) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
Doubles Competition
1. Hardy/Kortikere (AC) def. Morton/Chen (UTD) 9-7
2. Duarte/Vaithianathan (UTD) def. Glasscock/Cabato 8-6
3. Meendsen/Granberry (AC) def. Ravula/Jelev (UTD) 8-6
Match Notes
Austin College: 1-1 (0-0)
UT-Dallas: 2-0 (0-0)
Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3) Singles (3, 4, 1, 5, 2, 6)