Saturday, 03/03/2012

SEATTLE – The 24th-ranked Husky men’s tennis team secured its own Great Northwest Shootout title today with a 4-0 victory over 30th-ranked Louisville at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. Junior Kyle McMorrow clinched the win for the Huskies, who improve to 10-2 on the year.

UW also edged Tulsa yesterday, 4-3, to finish the weekend at 2-0 and take the tourney title. The Huskies host the Great Northwest Shootout in any year that they are not hosting the ITA National Team Indoors. Louisville and Tulsa will wrap things up tomorrow afternoon but the best either can finish is 1-1.

This was the second win this season over the Cardinals, both coming by 4-0 scores. Washington also defeated Louisville in Durham, N.C. in January during the ITA National Team Indoor Qualifying.

12th-ranked McMorrow finished off an impressive weekend with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Andrew Carter at No. 1 singles which gave the Huskies the insurmountable 4-0 lead and stopped the remaining three singles matches in progress. McMorrow and Carter were even at 3-3 in each of the two sets before McMorrow got the needed breaks of serve. He improves to 9-2 at No. 1 singles this year.

Sophomore Max Manthou and redshirt freshman Nicholas Kamisar both also continue to roll at the fifth and sixth singles spots. Manthou was first to finish, defeating Robert Hall, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 5, then Kamisar, who was the hero last night with a tiebreaking singles win, completed a less dramatic but no less effective 6-2, 6-3 win over Chris Simich. Manthou and Kamisar are both now a team-leading 10-1 in dual match play.

In the remaining matches, freshman Emmett Egger was in a tiebreak in the second set after losing the first set to Sebastian Stiefelmeyer at second singles. Junior Marton Bots had turned his match around against Albert Wagner and led 4-1 in the third set but did not get to finish. Freshman Viktor Farkas had an early 1-0 lead in his third set after splitting the first two sets against Michael Lippens.

Washington jumped out well in doubles, led by McMorrow and Egger, who rolled to an 8-1 upset of 34th-ranked Wagner and Carter, the second time the Husky pair has topped the two Cardinals. Bots and senior Matt Stith then clinched the point with an 8-5 victory over Lippens and Gupta.

The Huskies have just one home match next week, coming next Friday, March 9, against Eastern Washington at 4 p.m.

Washington Men’s Tennis
Nordstrom Tennis Center – Seattle, Wash.
March 3, 2012
No. 24 Washington 4; No. 30 Louisville 0

Doubles

1) McMorrow/Egger (UW) def. (34) Wagner/Carter (Lou), 8-1
2) Hawke/Manthou (UW) vs. Stiefelmeyer/Hall (Lou), 8-7, DNF
3) Stith/Bots (UW) def. Lippens/Gupta (Lou), 8-5

Order of finish: 1, 3

Singles

1) (12) Kyle McMorrow (UW) def. Andrew Carter (Lou), 6-3, 6-3
2) Emmett Egger (UW) vs. Sebastian Stiefelmeyer (Lou), 2-6, 6-6, DNF
3) Marton Bots (UW) vs. Albert Wagner (Lou), 2-6, 6-4, 4-1, DNF
4) Viktor Farkas (UW) vs. Michael Lippens (Lou), 6-2, 4-6, 1-0, DNF
5) Max Manthou (UW) def. Robert Hall (Lou), 6-1, 6-2
6) Nicholas Kamisar (UW) def. Chris Simich (Lou), 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish: 5, 6, 1