CHAMP CENTRAL
VIDEO RECAP
TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa was crowned as 2015 American Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Champions in a thrilling final match, while USF and Tulsa played their way into Sunday’s Men’s Tennis Championship final.
Women’s Championship - Final
No. 3 Tulsa 4, No. 1 Houston 3
Saana Saarteinen outlasted Mina Markovic in a thrilling match at No. 5 singles to clinch the 2015 American Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Championship for host Tulsa over Houston at Case Tennis Center.
Saarteinen downed Markovic (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) to clinch the match for Tulsa and send the Golden Hurricane to the NCAA tournament after Houston had won at No. 2 and 3 singles to even the match at 3-3.
Tulsa opened the match by taking the doubles point with victories at No. 2 and No. 3. Rongrong Leenabanchong and Marcelina Cichon were 6-2 winners at No. 2 over Tina Rupert and Rocio Martin before Mahitha Dadireddy and Saarteinen clinched the point with a 6-4 win over Angela Lorenzo and Markovic at No. 3.
Houston’s Despoina Vogasari downed Ksenia Laskutova at No. 1 singles (6-2, 6-3) before a pair of Tulsa wins - Yelena Nemchen over Martin at No. 4 (6-3, 6-3) and Dadireddy against Lorenzo at No. 6 (6-1, 7-5) - gave the Golden Hurricane a 3-1 advantage in the match.
Elena Kordolaimi gave Houston a win at No. 2 against Leenabanchong (7-6[2], 6-4) and Rupert beat Cichon (3-6, 6-2, 6-3) at No. 3 to set up the clash between Saarteinen and Markovic.
Doubles Competition
1. Ksenia Laskutova/Renata Kuricova (TLS) vs. Elena Kordolaimi/Despoina Vogasari (HOU) - DNF
2. Rongrong Leenabanchong/Marcelina Cichon (TLS) def. Rocio Martin/Tina Rupert (HOU), 6-2
3. Mahitha Dadireddy/Saana Saarteinen (TLS) def. Angela Lorenzo/Mina Markovic (HOU), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3
Singles Competition
1. Despoina Vogasari (HOU) def. Ksenia Laskutova (TLS), 6-2, 6-3
2. Elena Kordolaimi (HOU) def. Rongrong Leenabanchong (TLS), 7-6(2), 6-4
3. Tina Rupert (HOU) def. Marcelina Cichon (TLS), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. Yelena Nemchen (TLS) def. Rocio Martin (HOU), 6-3, 6-3
5. Saana Saarteinen (TLS vs. Mina Markovic (HOU), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
6. Renata Kuricova (TLS) vs. Angela Lorenzo (HOU), 6-1, 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 6, 2, 3, 5
Men’s Championship - Semifinals
No. 1 USF 4, No. 5 Memphis 1
Top seed USF advanced to Sunday’s championship final with a 4-1 win over Memphis Saturday at Case Tennis Center.
The Tigers captured the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and 2. Connor Glennon and Kai Lemke downed Oliver Pramming and Justin Roberts at No. 1 while Andrew Watson and Louis Asser dropped Sasha Gozun and Vadym Kalyuzhnyy at No. 2. USF’s Roberto Cid and Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz defeated Ryan Peniston and Patrick Mayer 7-5 at No. 3.
The Bulls won all four completed singles matches in straight sets for the 4-1 victory. Cid ousted Glennon at No. 1 (6-2, 6-1), Pramming downed Peniston at No. 2 (6-3, 7-5) and Gozun bested Watson at No. 3 before Roberts clinched the match with a win over Mayer at No. 5 (6-3, 6-4).
USF will face host Tulsa in Sunday’s championship final Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT on The American Digital Network.
Doubles Competition
1. Connor Glennon/Kai Lemke (MEM) def. Oliver Pramming/Justin Roberts (USF), 6-4
2. Andrew Watson/Louis Asser (MEM) def. Sasha Gozun/Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF), 7-5
3. Roberto Cid/Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (USF) def. Ryan Peniston/Patrick Mayer (MEM), 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles Competition
1. Roberto Cid (USF) vs. Connor Glennon (MEM), 6-2, 6-1
2. Oliver Pramming (USF) vs. Ryan Peniston (MEM), 6-3, 7-5
3. Sasha Gozun (USF) vs. Andrew Watson (MEM), 6-4, 7-6(1)
4. Kai Lemke (MEM) vs. Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (USF) - DNF
5. Justin Roberts (USF) vs. Patrick Mayer (MEM), 6-3, 6-4
6. Shakeel Manji (MEM) vs. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF) - DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 5
No. 2 Tulsa 4, No. 3 Tulane 3
Tulsa and Tulane battled down to the wire in a 4-3 Golden Hurricane victory that lifted the host of the 2015 Championships into Sunday’s final.
The Green Wave took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Dominik Koepfer and Chi-Shan Jao dropped Or Ram-Harel and Alejandro Espejo at No. 1 by a 6-2 margin before Constantin Schmitz and Sebastian Rey beat Juan Matias Gonzalez and Carlos Bautista 6-2 at No. 3.
Espejo picked up a win at No. 2 singles over Schmitz (6-4, 6-3) to even the match at 1-1 before Koepfer’s win over Ram-Harel at No. 1 (6-4, 7-5) put the Green Wave back on top. Matthew Kirby and Alex Van Cott dueled at No. 3, with Kirby outlasting Van Cott (4-6, 7-6[4], 6-4) to bring the match even yet again.
Matias Gonzalez won at No. 5 against Jao (6-4, 6-2) before Rey beat Tulsa’s Mitchell Pritchard at No. 4 (6-2, 7-6[5]) to set up No. 6 singles as a winner-take-all contest.
Bautista rose to the occasion on Court 6, defeating Ian Van Cott of Tulane in straight sets (6-4, 6-2) to win the match.
With the win, Tulsa moves on to Sunday’s championship final against USF at 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT on The American Digital Network.
Doubles Competition
1. Dominik Koepfer/Chi-Shan Jao (TLN) def. Or Ram-Harel/Alejandro Espejo (TLS), 6-2
2. Alexander Van Cott/Ian Van Cott (TLN) vs. Matthew Kirby/Dylan McCloskey (TLS) - DNF
3. Constantin Schmitz/Sebastian Rey (TLN) def. Juan Matias Gonzalez/Carlos Bautista (TLS), 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Singles Competition
1. Dominik Koepfer (TLN) def. Or Ram-Harel (TLS), 6-4, 7-5
2. Alejandro Espejo (TLS) def. Constantin Schmitz (TLN), 6-4, 6-3
3. Matthew Kirby (TLS) def. Alex Van Cott (TLN), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4
4. Sebastian Rey (TLN) def. Mitchell Pritchard (TLS), 6-2, 7-6(5)
5. Juan Matias Gonzalez (TLS) def. Chi-Shan Jao (TLN), 6-4, 6-2
6. Carlos Bautista (TLS) def. Ian Van Cott (TLN), 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6