Marquette University
BIG EAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Men's Tennis Earns Fifth Place at BIG EAST Championships
4/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 22, 2007
TAMPA, Fla. - In the third and final day of competition at the BIG EAST Championships, the Marquette men's tennis team defeated the DePaul Blue Demons, 4-3, to capture fifth place.
The Golden Eagles came out strong in doubles play, as Trent Hagan and Pete Van Lieshout earned a quick 8-2 win over George Wang and Alsadair Graetz at the two position. The Marquette duo of Stephen Shao and Niko Boulieris secured the early one point lead as they took down Dan Wilson and Vanja Grgec, 8-4, at no. 3.
"We came out really good in doubles," head coach Steve Rodecap said. "All three teams were ready to play and we took control at all spots which was a good start."
The Golden Eagles went down 3-1 in singles after the Blue Demons closed out the first three positions in straight sets. Junior Brett Binkley gave Marquette hope as he defeated Grgec at no. 4, 6-4, 6-4. The tying point came at the fifth spot, where Boulieris took down DePaul's senior Jack Komar, 6-4, 7-6.
The meet was decided at no. 6, where Greg Sirotek battled back after losing the first set to defeat Wilson, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.
"In singles we lost three quick matches but our guys kept battling," said Rodecap. "Brett won in straight sets to put us back in the match. It came down to Niko and Greg at five and six. The guy Niko played had only lost two singles matches all year so I was really proud of Nick's maturity to closeout that match. I challenged Greg after losing the first set and he did a good job of responding."
The Golden Eagles had lost to DePaul, 4-3, earlier this season on February 10 at the Helfaer Tennis Stadium.
"This was a good step for our program today," Rodecap said. "Our guys are excited to come back and beat DePaul after losing to them earlier this year. We had some Marquette alumni down here that were pretty vocal and really helped support us which we appreciate."
-COMPLETE RESULTS-
Doubles
No. 1- Jose Moncada/Austin Doerner (DPU) vs. Brett Binkley/Mark Rutherford (MU) DNF 7-6
No. 2- Trent Hagan/Pete Van Lieshout (MU) def. George Wang/Alasdair Graetz (DPU) 8-2
No. 3-Stephen Shao/Niko Boulieris (MU) def. Dan Wilson/Vanja Grgec (DPU) 8-4
Singles
No. 1- Austin Doerner (DPU) def. Trent Hagan (MU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 2- Jose Moncada (DPU) def. Stephen Shao (MU) 7-5, 6-2
No. 3- Alasdair Graetz (DPU) def. Mark Rutherford (MU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 4- Brett Binkley (MU) def. Vanja Grgec (DPU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5- Niko Boulieris (MU) def. Jack Komar (DPU) 6-4, 7-6
No. 6- Greg Sirotek (MU) def. Dan Wilson (DPU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3*
FINAL: DePaul, 3 Marquette, 4
* Deciding Match
Players Mentioned
