Univ. of Tulsa Team Page
Tulsa enters the match with a 12-6 record and an ITA ranking of No. 21. Junior Clifford Marsland, ranked No. 47 in the nation, enters the tilt riding a seven-match winning streak. Fellow junior Japie De Klerk is ranked No. 52 nationally, while freshman Carlos Bautista also has a seven-match winning streak in singles competition. The Golden Hurricane is coming off of a come from behind 4-3 win at No. 38 Texas Tech last Friday.
Tulane also enters Saturday's match with a 12-6 record and is ranked No. 62 in the ITA Rankings. The Green Wave is led by Dominik Koepfer, who has a 16-3 record during the dual season. In its last contest, Tulane defeated Rice, 4-3, on April 7.
ABOUT THE SENIORS
TU seniors Grant Ive and Tristan Jackson were instrumental in the Hurricane advancing to the NCAA Championships Round of 16 for the first time in school history in 2011, and repeating the feat during the 2012 season.
Ive has won 61 singles matches and 61 doubles matches during his TU career. Last season, he was named the Conference USA Outstanding Singles Player of the Championship. In 2011 at the NCAA Tournament, Ive's three-set win over Vasko Mladenov of Texas clinched a 4-3 win against the Longhorns which vaulted the Hurricane to its first NCAA Round of 16 in school history.
Jackson has earned 54 triumphs in singles play and 40 wins in doubles competition. He closed out the 2012 campaign with a 13-1 singles mark and teamed up with fellow senior Grant Ive to advance to the Round of 16 at the ITA All-American Doubles Championship. He was honored as the C-USA Tennis Athlete of the Week twice in 2012, and was named an ITA Scholar Athlete during the 2011 campaign.
GREEK CHALLENGE
During Saturday’s match, TU will present a 50-inch flat screen television, courtesy of Fine Auto Parking, to the sorority winner of the Tulsa Tennis Greek Challenge. Fraternities and sororities have been competing all year to have the highest attendance rate at select matches.
TOUGH SLEDDING
The Hurricane has faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation, as it has faced a ranked opponent in 15 of its 17 matches this year. All six of TU's defeats have come at the hands of top-25 teams.
GAINING MOMENTUM
Tulsa has won seven of its last eight matches, including four straight, leading into its final regular season contest.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 38 Texas Tech
The No. 22 Tulsa men's tennis team rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take down No. 38 Texas Tech, 4-3, Friday, April 5, at the McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock, Texas
The Golden Hurricane (12-6) is riding a four-match winning streak heading into its final regular season match on April 13 against Tulane at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
Tulsa dropped the doubles point, as the senior tandem of Grant Ive and Tristan Jackson earned an 8-4 win over Jeff Bryan and Felipe Soares at No. 2 doubles. Texas Tech evened things up at No. 3 doubles, as Raphael Pfister and Hugo Dojas defeated freshman Carlos Bautista and junior Japie De Klerk, 8-4. TTU took the point on Court 1 as No. 69 Vitor Manzini and Gabriel Dias earned a 9-8 (8-6) win at No. 1 doubles over TU's Alejandro Espejo and Clifford Marsland.
The Red Raiders grabbed a 3-0 lead after Jackson and Espejo fell on Court No. 6 and 4, respectively.
The TU rally started on Court 3, as Ive snared a 6-4, 6-4 win over Soares.
Marsland, ranked No. 49 in the country, took down Manzini 7-5, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Marsland is riding a seven-match winning streak and the junior holds a 10-2 record at the No. 1 spot and a 17-4 record this season.
De Klerk evened the match at three-all as he defeated Dias, 6-4, 7-5 at No. 2 singles.
All eyes shifted to Court 5, as Bautista beat Francisco Zambon, 7-6, 6-3, to clinch the TU triumph. Bautista also has won seven-straight matches, and has a 12-4 record this spring.
