ABILENE - Abilene Christian's sixth-ranked men's tennis team lost its first NCAA DII match of the season Saturday night to South Central regional rival and 17th-ranked St. Edward's, 5-4, at the Teague Events Center.
The loss dropped ACU's overall record to 8-6, while the Hilltoppers improved to 7-3. The match was decided at No. 5 singles where Ryan Wiggins outlasted
Cody McCarty, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. Wiggins went up 3-0 on McCarty in the final set, and then had to rally back to win the final three points after the Wildcat senior tied the score at 3-3.
ACU went into singles down 2-1, but eventually captured a 4-3 lead after scoring wins at the No. 1 to 3 positions from sixth-ranked
Hans Hach, Borja Cortes, and 43rd-ranked
Alfredo Desiati. Afterward all the Wildcats had to do was win one more match to clinch, but SEU's Otavio Perim came back from an early 5-2 deficit to beat
Michael Morris at No. 4, 7-5, 6-3, and then Hilltopper James Rogers tied the match at 4-4 with his straight-set win over
Corey Hale at the No. 6 spot, 6-0, 6-2.
Rogers and Perim were also winners in doubles, picking up a point at the No.3 line where they beat McCarty and Hale, 8-5.
Hach paired with Morris for only the second time this year, and together they tied the match at 1-1 with their 8-5 victory at No. 2 over Wiggins and Brontstrop. For Hach, today's doubles win was his 11th of the season, and his 7-6, 7-5 singles win over Ned Boone at No. 1 was his sixth straight and improved his overall season record to 11-1.
ACU had a chance to go up 2-1 in doubles play, but the No. 1 team of Cortes and Desiati let a late lead slip away in falling to Boone and Eduardo Bencke, 9-8.
Cortes went on to beat Bencke at No. 2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, while Desiati triumphed over Bronstrup, 6-4, 6-3. Cortes' win at No. 2 was his first of the year in raising his record to 9-5.
The Wildcats return to action Monday at Missouri-Kansas City for the start of their Spring Break road trip. Additional opponents include Northwest Missouri State, Rockhurst, and Lone Star Conference rival Cameron.
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#17 St. Edward's 5, #6 Abilene Christian 4
Mar 10, 2012 at Abilene, Texas (Teague Events Center)
Singles competition
1. #6
Hans Hach (ACUM) def. Ned Boone (SEUMT) 7-6, 7-5
2. Borja Cortes (ACUM) def. Eduardo Bencke (SEUMT) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
3. #43
Alfredo Desiati (ACUM) def. Pedro Bronstrup (SEUMT) 6-4, 6-3
4. Otavio Perim (SEUMT) def.
Michael Morris (ACUM) 7-5, 6-3
5. Ryan Wiggins (SEUMT) def.
Cody McCarty (ACUM) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
6. James Rogers (SEUMT) def.
Corey Hale (ACUM) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Ned Boone/Eduardo Bencke (SEUMT) def. Borja Cortes/
Alfredo Desiati (ACUM) 9-8
2.
Michael Morris/
Hans Hach (ACUM) def. Ryan Wiggins/Pedro Bronstrup (SEUMT) 8-5
3. James Rogers/Otavio Perim (SEUMT) def.
Cody McCarty/
Corey Hale (ACUM) 8-5
Match Notes
St. Edward's 7-3; National ranking #17; Regional ranking #2
Abilene Christian 8-6; National ranking #6; Regional ranking #1
