University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, April 19
Cajun Courts
2 PM
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
1
vs
4
Middle Tennessee
No.49 Middle Tennessee Holds Off Men’s Tennis In SBC Semifinal
4/19/2013 8:46:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Contact: Jeff Schneider
LAFAYETTE, La. – No.49 Middle Tennessee fended off a Ragin' Cajuns upset bid as the Louisiana men's tennis team saw its season come to an end with a 4-1 defeat in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Championships on Friday at Cajun Courts.
“This was a very disappointing result because we feel that we are a better team than Middle Tennessee,” head coach Mark Jeffrey said. “It's just a disappointing way to end the season. This leaves a really bad taste in your mouth, and makes you want to work extremely hard to make sure these close matches won't go against us.”
In what was a tightly contested match from first ball to match point, the Blue Raiders (19-7) picked up the doubles point winning a tiebreaker on court two.
Teammates Rick de Groot and Jake Wynan knocked off the 67th ranked duo of Ben Davis and Victor Cornea, 8-4, at the No.1 position.
Edgar Lopez and Jarred Wynan just came up short in a tie break against Christopher Lang and David Fox, 9-8 (7-5).
Middle Tennessee jumped out to a 3-0 lead picking up wins at the No.2 and 5 positions.
Sophomore Damian Farinola got the Cajuns (15-12) on the board with his straight set victory over Lang on court three, 6-4, 6-2. The win is the 14th of the year for Farinola and ties him for the team lead with de Groot and Hunter Johnson.
With the Cajuns up on courts one and four in the third set, Jarred Wynan was edged out by Yannick Born in a marathon three-set match that included three tiebreaks, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2).
“These guys are going to have to commit for the summer months to get better.” Jeffrey stated. “We need to improve a whole lot more because I want this team to be top 25 nationally. We are going to have a great summer and work really hard. We have to make up our minds and do the work.”
For info and updates on men's tennis follow the team on twitter @CajunMensTennis.
#49 Middle Tennessee 4, Louisiana 1
Singles competition
1. Rick de Groot (UL) vs. Davis, Ben (MT) 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), 5-4, unfinished
2. Cornea, Victor (MT) def. Edgar Lopez (UL) 6-0, 6-3
3. Damian Farinola (UL) def. Lang, Christoph (MT) 6-4, 6-2
4. Jake Wynan (UL) vs. Zito, Ettore (MT) 5-7, 7-5, 4-3, unfinished
5. Fox, David (MT) def. Hunter Johnson (UL) 7-5, 6-3
6. Born, Yannick (MT) def. Jarred Wynan (UL) 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2)
Doubles competition
1. Rick de Groot/Jake Wynan (UL) def. #67 Davis, Ben/Cornea, Victor (MT) 8-4
2. Lang, Christoph/Fox, David (MT) def. Jarred Wynan/Edgar Lopez (UL) 9-8 (7-5)
3. Brand, Marlon/Born, Yannick (MT) def. Hunter Johnson/Yates Johnson (UL) 8-5
Match Notes:
Middle Tennessee 19-7; National ranking #49
Louisiana 15-12
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,5,3,6)
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