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May 20, 2013
Texas
No. 3 Men's Tennis opens Big 12 play with 6-1 win over Oklahoma

AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 3 Texas surrendered the doubles point for only the second time this season but countered with an aggressive singles effort, as the Longhorns (13-1, 1-0) opened Big 12 Conference play with a 6-1 victory Friday evening over No. 41 Oklahoma (14-5, 1-2).

OU took a 1-0 lead after recording a pair of tiebreak victories at the first and second doubles positions. UT senior Roger Gubser (Laredo, Texas) and junior Hubert Chodkiewicz (Corpus Christi, Texas) were victorious at the third position, winning by an 8-3 count over Matt Long and Ryan Thomas.

The Sooners' lead, however, proved to be short-lived, as the Longhorns clinched the match within 75 minutes of dropping the doubles point. Gubser, senior Callum Beale (Adelaide, Australia) and freshman Michael Venus (Orlando, Fla.) each finished off their opponents within a two-minute span after completing just over an hour of singles play.

Gubser scored a 6-3, 6-3 victory at second singles over Alexei Ivanov for his eighth consecutive win. Beale, after falling behind 3-0 in the first set, collected his third consecutive victory, defeating Tommy Garrison by a 6-3, 6-3 margin at third singles. Venus scored his fifth straight win, knocking off Ryan Thomas, 6-3, 6-0 to give UT a commanding 3-1 lead. Freshman Miguel Reyes Varela (Cuernavaca, Mexico) finished off the Longhorns' 11th consecutive victory, dispatching Lee Gregg by a 6-2, 6-2 count.

Helgeson, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, tallied his sixth-straight win and fifth in a row over a ranked opponent as he defeated 84th-ranked Marek Velicka, 6-2, 6-2. Sophomore Milan Mihailovic (Nis, Serbia) put the finishing touches on the UT victory, defeating Sergei Avdeyev at the fourth slot in straight sets for the final 6-1 margin.

UT looks for its 12th straight victory Sunday when it meets No. 33 Oklahoma State. First serve is set for 1 p.m. CDT. Fans are reminded to turn their clocks one hour forward on Sunday morning at 2 a.m. as a result of daylight-saving time.

No. 3 Texas 6, No. 41 Oklahoma 1
Doubles - Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
1. Velicka/Ivanov (OU) def. Beale/Reyes Varela (UT) - 9-8 (6)
2. Garrison/Chavarria (OU) def. No. 28 Helgeson/Venus (UT) - 9-8 (5)
3. No. 47 Chodkiewicz/Gubser (UT) def. Long/Thomas (OU) - 8-3

Singles - Order of Finish: 2, 3, 6, 5, 1, 4
1. No. 20 Travis Helgeson (UT) def. No. 84 Marek Velicka (OU) - 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 36 Roger Gubser (UT) def. Alexei Ivanov (OU) - 6-3, 6-3
3. No. 30 Callum Beale (UT) def. Tommy Garrison (OU) - 6-3, 6-3
4. Milan Mihailovic (UT) def. Sergei Avdeyev (OU) - 6-2, 6-4
5. Miguel Reyes Varela (UT) def. Lee Gregg (OU) - 6-2, 6-2
6. Michael Venus (UT) def. Ryan Thomas (OU) - 6-3, 6-0


 

 

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