Marquette University
Rutgers (BIG EAST Championships)
Men's Tennis Advances to BIG EAST Semi-final
4/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 21, 2006
TAMPA, Fl. - Freshman Eric Fleming clinched the match winning point to help lift Marquette to a 4-2 victory over Rutgers in the first round of the BIG EAST Tennis Championships at the Varsity Tennis Courts on the campus of the University of South Florida. The win advances the Golden Eagles to tomorrow's noon semi-final against the winner of No. 2 Louisville and No. 7 DePaul.
"The conditions were extremely hot and the match lasted almost 4 hours," head coach Steve Rodecap said. "This was the first time that conditioning was a big factor. Our guys work hard and take pride in conditioning and it paid off for us today."
The Golden Eagles were able to gain momentum and take an early lead after capturing the doubles point. Trent Hagan and Stephen Shao got a quick win over the Scarlet Knight's Gordie Mikhutsky and Gabe Adams at no. 3, 8-1. The duo of Brett Binkley and Pete Van Lieshout secured the point for Marquette when they took down Arjum Vaidya and Matthew Faucett, 8-5, at no. 2.
In singles action, Binkley was able to get the first singles win for Marquette by beating Matthew Fawcett, 6-2, 6-0, at no. 5. The Scarlet Knights were able to tie up the match, 2-2, getting victories at no. 2 and no. 3. Shao gave the Golden Eagles a one-point advantage when he beat Gordie Milchutsky, 6-2, 6-3.
"We didn't play our best doubles today but fortunately we got the doubles point. Shao played a really good match because he had played a three setter with that guy a few weeks ago. He came out and played good doubles and good singles today."
The match came down to Eigis Vedrickas at no. 1 and Fleming at no. 6. Both players had dropped the first set, won the second and were up in the third, when Rutgers' Adams could not finish due to injury, giving Fleming deciding point.
"We have to rest up, get fluids in our guys and be ready to play tomorrow," said Rodecap. "It is a great opportunity for our guys to play in the semi-finals and we'll play a lot more loose tomorrow then we did today. We are excited for the opportunity."
-COMPLETE RESULTS-
No. 3 Marquette def. No. 6 Rutgers, 4-2
Doubles
1. Tyler Demming/Jonathan Wanono (RU) def. Eigis Vedrickas/Ian Kawas (MU) - 8-3
2. Brett Binkley/Pete Van Lieshout (MU) def. Arjum Vaidya/Matthew Faucett (RU) - 8-5
3. Trent Hagan/Stephen Shao (MU) def. Gordie Mikhutsky/Gabe Adams (RU) - 8-1
Singles
1. Eigis Vedrickas (MU) vs. Tyler Demming (RU) - 7-5, 3-6, 2-2 (DNF)
2. Arjan Vaidya (RU) def. Trent Hagan (MU) - 6-3, 6-3
3. Jonathan Wanono (RU) def. Ian Kawas (MU) - 6-3, 6-2
4. Stephan Shao (MU) def. Gordie Milchutsky (RU) - 6-2, 6-3
5. Brett Brinkley (MU) def. Matthew Fawcett (RU) - 6-2, 6-0
6. Eric Fleming (MU) def. Gabe Adams (RU) - 6-7 (5), 7-5, 2-0 (ret.) *
DNF - Did not finish
* - Deciding match
Players Mentioned
