Men's Tennis Finishes Second at Milwaukee Tennis Classic

Sept. 24, 2006

Milwaukee Tennis Classic Results in PDF Format
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MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Despite freshman Mark Rutherford's undefeated weekend, the Marquette men's tennis team fell just short of winning the 31st Annual Milwaukee Tennis Classic. They played Illinois State in singles and DePaul in doubles.

Rutherford was the only Golden Eagle able to steal a victory from the Redbird's, defeating Tim Link, 6-3, 7-5. Trent Hagan played tough at no. 1, but lost in a third set tiebreaker, 6-7, 7-5, (10-7).

"With the first match our guys were disappointed with how they played," head coach Steve Rodecap said. "The conditions were tough and ISU was coming off doubles so were already used to them. We got off to a slow start. Illinois State came out ready to play. They really did a good job with their energy and kept us on our heels. We made a comeback but never got over the hump. We knew it was going to be tough and they played really well today."

Marquette was able to regroup going into doubles against DePaul, who they split singles with 3-3. The point would determine second place. Pete Van Lieshout and Hagan got the first win at no. 2 by beating Danny Wilson and Chris Nowak, 8-5. The deciding win came at no. 3 as Stephen Shao and Niko Boulieris rallied to win, 9-7.

"It was tough for us right after the singes to head into doubles because we were down," Rodecap said. "Our guys did a good job of putting that behind them and coming back and playing at a good energy level. I told Pete that we needed him to step up because he was the only one that hadn't played singles and we were going to need him to keep the energy high. Pete and Trent got off to a good start at no. 2 and it helped Shao and Boulieris at no. 3. They got off to a slow start and fought their way back to get the win."

Illinois State won the tournament, going 3-0 on the weekend. Rutherford was awarded the sportsmanship award of the tournament.

"Mark won the sportsmanship award which I was really happy about," said Rodecap. "He's going to have a really bright future for us. He won three singles and one doubles, going 6-0 on the weekend."

The Golden Eagles will return to action with some players going to All Americans next weekend and six players competing at the University of Louisville tournament the weekend of Oct. 6-8.

-COMPLETE RESULTS-

Marquette vs. Illinois State (Men's Singles)

No. 1-Yohann Nograbat (ISU) def. Trent Hagan (MU) 6-7, 7-5, (10-7)
No. 2-Nuno Jacinto (ISU) def. Brett Binkley (MU) 6-1, 6-4
No. 3-Mark Rutherford (MU) def. Tim Link (ISU) 6-3, 7-5
No. 4-Oscar Beich (ISU) def. Stephen Shao (MU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 5-Alfredo Lagardo (ISU) def. Niko Boulieris (MU) 6-3, 7-5
No. 6-Daniel Tobar (ISU) def. Greg Sirotek (MU) 6-4, 6-2

Marquette vs. DePaul (Men's Doubles)

No. 1-Binkley/Rutherfordy (MU) def. Doerner/Moncada (DP) 9-8(6)
No. 2-Hagan/Van Lieshout (MU) def. Wilson/Nowak (DP) 8-5
No. 3-Shao/Boulieris (MU) def. Komar/Grgec (DP) 9-7