March 8, 2008

LUBBOCK, Texas - Despite dropping the doubles point early in the match, the No. 30 men's tennis team held strong today at the McLeod Tennis Center winning 5-2. After defeating another nationally ranked opponent, Texas Tech advances to 12-1 in duals play this spring.

In doubles the 42nd-ranked Red Raider pair of Michael Breler and Sinisa Markovic dominated at No. 2 defeating Denver, 8-1. The Pioneers retaliated shortly after finding a pair of 8-6 wins in the No. 1 and 3 positions. The No. 9-ranked team of Adam Holmstrom and Niklas Persson won three straight points to upset Tech's second-ranked duo of Bojan Szumanski and Christian Rojmar at No. 1. Shortly after Kalle Rosen and David Simson clinched the doubles point over Tech's Joe Hattrup and Lenoir Ramos at No. 3.

Texas Tech turned the momentum around in singles as four Red Raiders sunk in straight-set wins. Senior Ramos was the first to put Tech on the scoreboard defeating DU's Simson, followed by teammate Ilya Babinciuc who won 6-2, 6-4 over the Pioneers' Benny Althaus. Sophomore Markovic was the next to strike taking down Denver's Persson, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 2.

The match of the day featured junior Michael Breler squaring off with the Pioneer's Kalle Rosen on court six. Breler rolled through the first set 6-1, but with the match score at 3-1 in favor of the Red Raiders, Rosen had the 5-4 advantage in the second. Renowned for his work ethic and ability to hold under pressure, the Sweden-native moved in for the kill winning the second set, 7-5, and clinching the victory for the Raiders.

"I wasn't aware of the score at the time," commented Breler, "but my team and the fans cheering me on really helped pump me up." With the win Breler remains the only undefeated Tech player, boosting his record to 12-0 in singles play. "When my team plays good, it makes me also want to play good. I just try to believe in myself, stay mentally tough, and play strong in every match."

Rounding off the day it was the battle of the three-set matches. Tech's No. 35 Szumanski was unable to edge DU's No. 12 Holmstrom, losing 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 at No. 1. Junior Rojmar recovered from losing 6-4 in the first set to Andrew Landwerlen, winning the next two, 6-2, 7-5.

The Red Raiders next travel to the highly anticipated Blue-Gray Invitational beginning Thursday, March 13.

#30 Texas Tech - 5
#37 Denver - 2
March 8, 2008

Doubles: 2, 1, 3*
1. #9Holmstrom/Persson (DU) def. #2Rojmar/Szumanski (TTU); 8-6
2. #42Breler/Markovic (TTU) def. Althaus/Landwerlen (DU); 8-1
3. Rosen/Simson (DU) def. Hattrup/Ramos (TTU); 8-6

Singles: 3, 5, 2, 6*, 1, 4
1. #12 Adam Holmstrom (DU) def. #49 Bojan Szumanski (TTU); 6-3, 5-7, 7-5
2. Sinisa Markovic (TTU) def. Niklas Persson (DU); 6-3, 6-4
3. Lenoir Ramos (TTU) def. David Simson (DU); 6-3, 6-4
4. Ilya Babinciuc (TTU) def. Benny Althaus (DU); 6-2, 6-4
5. Christian Rojmar (TTU) def. Andrew Landwerlen (DU); 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
6. Michael Breler (TTU) def. Kalle Rosen (DU); 6-1, 7-5