Tulsa Wins Fourth-Consecutive Men's Tennis Championship - CONFERENCEUSA.COM - The Official Athletic site of The Conference USA

Tulsa Wins Fourth-Consecutive Men's Tennis Championship
Golden Hurricane defeats Rice 4-1 for fourth-straight year.

	TULSA, 2009 C-USA MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPION!

April 19, 2009

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ORLANDO, Fla. - Led by the No. 1-ranked collegiate men's player, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane captured the 2009 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship by defeating Rice 4-1 on Sunday at the UCF Tennis Complex on the campus of UCF in Orlando, Fla.

It's the fourth-straight year Tulsa has captured the conference crown, all under veteran coach Vince Westbrook. All four years, Tulsa has defeated Rice in the championship round. The 32nd-ranked Golden Hurricane (21-9) and 37th-ranked Owls (17-10) will now await the unveiling of the NCAA Division I tournament bracket. First- and second-round matches are scheduled for campus sites on May 8-9. The NCAA championships are scheduled for May 14-25 on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Tulsa's No. 4 player senior Alberto Sottocorno was in position to close things out against Rice's Sam Garforth-Bles. The two went back and forth in the second set until Garforth-Bles thought Sottocorno forehand shot went long. However, the chair umpire immediately overruled him for match point as Sottocorno won 6-1, 7-5. After the stunning finish, Sottocorno's teammates threw a bucket of water on him as the Golden Hurricane celebrated on the No. 4 court.

The Golden Hurricane were playing in honor of All-American Ross Cunningham, who was injured in a recent car accident.

Rice actually had the early advantage in singles play as No. 3 player senior Tobias Scheil defeated Tulsa's junior Phillip Stephens by a 6-4, 6-4 final. Stephens entered the tournament ranked No. 86 in the ITA Singles Rankings. Then, Tulsa got on the board when No. 6 player junior Marco Ballok knocked off freshman Christian Saravia 6-3, 6-4. Tulsa senior Arnau Brugues, the nation's top-ranked player, came into the conference championship riding a 21-match winning streak. He improved to 40-3 on the year by defeating Rice's junior Bruno Rosa by 6-1, 7-5. Brugues final point was an ace.

Tulsa was the first to score by winning the doubles points. Coming off the courts first for the Golden Hurricane was Brugues and Ballok at No. 3. The duo defeated Saravia and junior Dennis Polyakov of Rice, 8-1. Closing doubles action was Stephens and freshman Ashley Watling of Tulsa as they eliminated Rosa and freshman Isamu Tachibana, 8-5. Rice's 53rd-ranked doubles team of senior Christoph Müeller and Scheil were trailing 7-6 to Sottocorno and freshman James Seagraves of Tulsa being doubles action was called.

2009 C-USA MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
UCF TENNIS COMPLEX
ORLANDO, FLA.
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
TULSA 4, RICE 1
MATCH 7
1) #32 TULSA 4, 2) #37 RICE 1
Singles
1. #1 Arnau Brugues, Tulsa def. #47 Bruno Rosa, Rice, 6-1, 7-5
2. Victor Kolik, Tulsa vs. #46 Christoph Müeller, Rice, DNF (6-7, 0-2)
3. Tobias Scheil, Rice def. #86 Philip Stephens, Tulsa, 6-4, 6-4
4. Alberto Sottocorno, Tulsa def. Sam Garorth-Bles, Rice, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. Ashley Watling, Tulsa vs. Isamu Tachibana, Rice, DNF (6-7, 4-4)
6. Marko Ballok, Tulsa def. Christian Saravia, Rice, 6-3, 6-4

Order of finish: 3, 6, 4

Doubles
1. Sottocorno/James Seagraves, Tulsa vs. #53 Müeller/Scheil, Rice, DNF (7-6)
2. Stephens/Watling, Tulsa def. Rosa/Tachibana, Rice , 8-5
3. Brugues/Ballok, Tulsa def. Saravia/Dennis Polyakov, Rice, 8-1

Order of finish: 3, 2