April 23, 2010
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The No. 4 seed University of Texas Pan American (UTPA) men's tennis team advanced to the second round of the Southland Conference (SLC) Tournament with a 4-1 win over the No. 5 Lamar University Cardinals Friday, April 23 at the H-E-B Tennis Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
"Being that we had beaten them fairly handily a few weeks ago, I wasn't sure how we were going to handle our emotions in the match. But our guys came out with some great intensity in the doubles and really set the tone for the rest of the match," head coach Chris Taylor said.
Getting the match off to a strong start, the Broncs claimed the doubles point, winning at two lines. Beau and Brett Bernstein claimed No. 1 8-4 against Robert Lee and Denis Ermilov, with Aswin Vijayaragavan and Nirvick Mohinta topping Marton Horvath and Dusan Savkovic 8-5. Line three was not completed with the game tied at six between UTPA's Marcus Dornauf and Andrew Irving and Lamar's Diego Snyder and Richard Filkuka.
In singles competition, the Broncs won three lines, and left two unfinished to claim the match. Vijayaragavan took control of the first line, defeating Filkuka 6-1, 6-3. Brett Bernstein went unfinished against Lee 5-7, 3-2, while Beau Bernstein topped Savkovic 6-0, 6-1 at line three. At No. 4 Dornauf fell to Ermilov, 7-5, 6-3. Irving dominated line five for the Broncs, defeating Horvath 6-2, 6-1, and line six went unfinished between Mohinta and Snyder 6-2, 4-6, 0-4.
"Beau and Kiwi were huge, winning their matches quickly and maintaining the momentum. Lamar was still battling hard though, but Aswin showed some great leadership in closing out the match for us," Taylor said.
"We're hoping to right some wrongs tomorrow against UTA. That was a tough loss last weekend and the sting is still there. But I feel we've learned some important lessons from that loss and so should be able to come out tomorrow with a lot confidence," Taylor said.
The Broncs will face the No. 1 seed UT-Arlington Mavericks Saturday at noon (CT). The winner will play for the championship title Sunday at 3 p.m.
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UTPA 4, Lamar 1
April 23, 2010; H-E-B Tennis Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Singles Competition
1. Aswin Vijayaragavan (UTPA) def. Richard Filkuka (LU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Brett Bernstein (UTPA) vs. Robert Lee (LU) 5-7, 3-2, unfinished
3. Beau Bernstein (UTPA) def. Dusan Savkovic (LU) 6-0, 6-1
4. Denis Ermilov (LU) def. Marcus Dornauf (UTPA) 7-5, 6-3
5. Andrew Irving (UTPA) def. Marton Horvath (LU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Nirvick Mohinta (UTPA) vs. Diego Snyder (LU) 6-2, 4-6, 0-4, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Brett Bernstein/Beau Bernstein (UTPA) def. Robert Lee/Denis Ermilov (LU) 8-4
2. Aswin Vijayaragavan/Nirvick Mohinta (UTPA) def. Marton Horvath/Dusan Savkovic (LU) 8-5
3. Marcus Dornauf/Andrew Irving (UTPA) vs. Diego Snyder/Richard Filkuka (LU) 6-
6, unfinished
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