Saturday, 03/03/2012

SEATTLE – Forced into third sets they would have rather avoided, junior Kyle McMorrow and redshirt freshman Nicholas Kamisar stormed back in their final sets at the top and bottom of UW’s singles lineup, propelling the 24th-ranked Husky men’s tennis team to a 4-3 win over 33rd-ranked Tulsa tonight at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. McMorrow’s win at No. 1 singles tied it up, then Kamisar came through at sixth singles to cap UW’s comeback.

Washington (9-2) takes the early advantage in the Great Northwest Shootout, a three-team round robin this weekend between UW, Tulsa, and 30th-ranked Louisville.

“We just kept winning points and turning points into games and games into sets, and slowly started getting matches under our belts,” said Head Coach Matt Anger. “I think (Tulsa) are a very good team, I’m impressed with them, and I think that’s a win that’s really going to work for us throughout the season.”

In a 1-3 hole but up a set on the final three courts, the Huskies still had plenty of drive. Freshman Emmett Egger came through first with one of the biggest wins of his young career, as he toppled 85th-ranked Clifford Marsland, 7-6, 6-4. The Issaquah, Wash. native was down a break in the first set and then down 2-5 in the tiebreak before he won the next five points. He had an early break in the second and made it stand up the whole way.

From there, McMorrow and Kamisar were pushed into third sets, with UW still needing both. McMorrow, the 12th-ranked singles player in the country, was particularly frustrated at still being on the court, as he had let a late service break slip away in the second set against 99th-ranked Japie De Klerk. But McMorrow kept pushing and wore down De Klerk in the third, breaking in the fourth game and closing out a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory.

That left it to Kamisar at No. 6 singles against Alejandro Sanchez in a very physical battle. Kamisar led, 4-1, in the first set but Sanchez came back to tie it at 5-all before Kamisar held and then broke to take the set. He led 3-2 in the second set but then lost four straight games to slip into the third set. But rather than hang his head, Kamisar broke early and then picked up momentum, pushing out to a 5-0 lead. He was broken on his first attempt at serving it out, and then faced three more break points on his second try as tension mounted, but the Sammamish, Wash. native finally got a match point and converted it for a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win.

“In both situations we lost the second set, and sometimes you might start a little slow (in the third), so that was good to see for us,” said Anger about UW’s quick third set starts. “(Kamisar’s opponent) was a rough player; I turned around one time to our guys and said how did we win the first set against this guy? He was pretty well-rounded. So it’s just neat seeing Nick out there just coming into his own, and he’s getting tougher and tougher.”

Down 0-1 after doubles, the Huskies regrouped and took four of the six first sets in singles. Sophomore Max Manthou was the first Dawg to pull through, as he won the final three games to close out Tristan Jackson, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5 singles. But Tulsa closed out the two matches where it took the early leads. 65th-ranked Ashley Watling overcame junior Marton Bots, 6-4, 6-2 in the three spot, and freshman Viktor Farkas came up short against Grant Ive, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4.

In doubles play, Bots and senior Matt Stith opened up an early lead and made it stick, as they added a late second break for an 8-4 win at No. 3 over De Klerk and Gheorghe. But Tulsa had opened up two break leads at one and two. They closed out the No. 2 match, 8-4, with Ive and Sanchez defeated Manthou and freshman Jeff Hawke. Tulsa’s top team of Marsland and Watling is ranked third in the nation. McMorrow and Egger got one break back to close the gap, but Watling served it out for an 8-6 victory to clinch the point.

Washington will be right back at it tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. against a 30th-ranked Louisville team that the Huskies met once already at ITA National Team Indoor qualifying.

Washington Men’s Tennis
Nordstrom Tennis Center – Seattle, Wash.
March 2, 2012
No. 24 Washington 4; No. 33 Tulsa 3

Doubles

1) (3) Marsland/Watling (Tulsa) def. McMorrow/Egger (UW), 8-6
2) Ive/Sanchez (Tulsa) def. Hawke/Manthou (UW), 8-4
3) Stith/Bots (UW) def. De Klerk/Gheorghe (Tulsa), 8-4

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles

1) (12) Kyle McMorrow (UW) def. (99) Japie De Klerk (Tulsa), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1
2) Emmett Egger (UW) def. (85) Clifford Marsland (Tulsa), 7-6 (7), 6-4
3) (65) Ashley Watling (Tulsa) def. Marton Bots (UW), 6-4, 6-2
4) Grant Ive (Tulsa) def. Viktor Farkas (UW), 6-3, 6-1
5) Max Manthou (UW) def. Tristan Jackson (Tulsa), 6-2, 6-3
6) Nicholas Kamisar (UW) def. Alejandro Sanchez (Tulsa), 7-5, 3-6, 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 5, 4, 2, 1, 6