Monday, 05/14/2012

BERKELEY, Calif. - No. 22 Texas Tech used a strong showing during singles, to roar past Cal Poly, 4-1, in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships at the Hellman Tennis Complex.

"I knew how tough Cal Poly was going to be," said Red Raider head coach Tim Siegel. "And they were everything we thought that they would be. We really struggled at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles today, but I thought Raony (Carvalho) played well and (Rafael) Garcia played well. (Raphael) Pfister played great and Vitor (Manzini) battled and got us the victory."

Texas Tech is 6-6 all-time in the NCAA first round and 7-11 all-time in the NCAA Championships.

The day did not start as Texas Tech had hoped, as Cal Poly ran away with the doubles point. Cal Poly's Jordan Bridge and Brian McPhee topped Rafael Garcia and Vitor Manzini, 8-4, and then the Mustangs' Marco Comuzzo and Jurgen De Jager then upended Jeff Bryan and Raphael Pfister, 8-6, to secure the double point for Cal Poly.

The nationally-ranked No. 18 tandem of Raony Carvalho and Gonzalo Escobar where in a solid battle at No. 1 doubles against No. 68 Andre Dome and Matt Fawcett, with Tech leading 6-5, when the match was halted.

Raphael Pfister, who entered the lineup as a late addition, was the first off the court in singles, as he dropped Sebastian Bell, 6-1, 6-3 in 86 minutes to tie the team score at 1-1.

Raphael Garcia battled back from an early first-set deficit to topple Matt Fawcett, 6-4, 6-4, and No. 79 Carvalho dropped Brian McPhee, 6-2, 6-3, giving Texas Tech a commanding 3-1 lead with three matches still in play.

Escobar, Manzini and Francisco Zamon were each extended to a third set, but Manzini settled the match with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 marathon win over Bridge to give Tech the win.

The Red Raiders will now face No. 14 California (13-11) at 3 p.m. CT at the Hellman Tennis Complex on Sunday. Cal marched to a 4-0 win over UTSA in 2 hours and 13 minutes.

2012 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships
Berkeley, Calif. (Hellman Tennis Center)
Saturday, May 12
Match 1 - (2) Texas Tech 4, (3) Cal Poly 1
Match 2 - (1) California 4, (4) UTSA 0
Saturday, May 12
Match 3 - (2) Texas Tech vs. (1)California, 3 p.m. CT