University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Murray St
Men's Tennis Blanks Murray State, 7-0
Apr 02, 2003 | Men's Tennis
April 2, 2003
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis men's tennis team (11-6, 2-1 C-USA) swept the Ohio Valley Conference two-time defending champion Murray State Racers (6-9, 1-1 OVC), 7-0, in non-conference action, Wednesday.
The Tigers came out in dominating fashion, sweeping the doubles point with three wins in the doubles line-up. Joe Schmulian and Alex Bucewicz downed the team of Adam Maskill and Masimba Muskwe, 8-2, while Alex Jago and Brendan Malarkey also downed their Murray State opponents, 8-2. The No. 52-ranked Memphis doubles team of Ben Stapp and Lee Taylor Walker downed the Murray State No. 1 team of Zakaria Bahir and Thiago Gondim, 8-3.
Malarkey then posted his second straight 6-0,6-0 victory at No. 5 singles to put Memphis up 2-0. Fellow freshman Jago followed with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Craig Jacobs at No. 6 to put Memphis up 3-0 and Stapp decided the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles over Gondim. With the win, Stapp improves to 16-9 for the entire year and has won eight of his last nine matches, with his only loss coming to No. 94 Pablo Martinez from Troy State. The senior is now 12-4 in the spring dual season and is 5-4 at No. 1 singles with two wins over nationally ranked opponents.
Fellow senior Schmulian also crossed a threshold point, picking up his 10th singles win of the spring at No. 3, 6-4, 6-3, over Maskill. Schmulian, who missed the entire fall season with a foot injury, is now 10-8 and has won five straight singles matches.
Walker and Bucewicz were the last two Tigers to finish their respective matches, with Walker gutting out a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Bahri, while Bucewicz won his No. 4 singles match 7-5, 6-4. Bucewicz improves his team-leading record to 14-3 for the spring and 18-6 for the entire season. Bucewicz also has a five-match winning streak heading into Sunday's match.
The Tigers will travel to New Orleans to face No. 74 University of New Orleans (13-4), Sunday. That match is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
No. 65 Memphis 7, Murray State 0
Singles
No. 1 - Ben Stapp (UM) def. Thiago Gondim, 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 - Lee Taylor Walker (UM) def. Zakaria Bahri, 7-6, 6-4
No. 3 - Joe Schmulian (UM) def. Adam Maskill, 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 - Alex Bucewicz (UM) def. Masimba Muskwe, 7-5, 6-4
No. 5 - Brendan Malarkey (UM) def. Richemn Mourad, 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 - Alex Jago (UM) def. Craig Jacobs, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 - No. 52 Stapp/Walker (UM) def. Gondim/Bahri, 8-3
No. 2 - Schmulian/Bucewicz (UM) def. Maskell/Muskwe, 8-2
No. 3 - Jago/Malarkey (UM) def. Jacobs/Mourad, 8-2
Records:
Memphis: 11-6, 2-1 C-USA
Murray State: 6-9, 1-1 OVC
Order of Singles Finishes: 5, 6, 1, 3, 2, 4
Players Mentioned
