Deli Gets Win in Team Loss at Baylor

WACO – Abilene Christian freshman Merse Deli stepped up for a win in his spring singles debut but 25th-ranked Baylor got the team win on Saturday, 6-1.
 
In addition to Deli's win, the Wildcats had strong showings at No. 5 singles with Cesar Barranquero and Dennis Dutine looking strong on the sixth line.
 
"I thought for a moment it might be a 4-3 match," said ACU Head Coach Juan Nunez. "Dennis was up in both sets, Cesar had a few match point opportunities and Merse played well."
 
Deli won a marathon tiebreaker, 13-11, over Louis Bowden at No. 5 singles. After losing the first set 6-1, Deli came back for a 6-4 win to force the long tiebreaker.
 
"Merse went down 6-1 in the first set and was down 3-0 in the second," said Nunez. "He showed a lot of maturity even from last semester. He just kept working and playing hard. Last semester, he tended to get down on himself when things weren't going well. I'm so proud of the way he played today."
 
That wasn't the longest match of the day as Cesar Barranquero also had a marathon on the third line. He won the first set, 7-6 (7-3) and lost 7-6 (14-12) before falling 13-11.
 
"I don't think Cesar could have done anything better today," Nunez said. "He played about as good as he could play. He just came up against a very good opponent who got the points at the crucial times.
 
Freshman Dennis Dutine just missed a tiebreaker, falling 7-6 in the second set.
 
"Dennis was up 3-1 in the first set and 5-3 in the second," said Nunez. "This was his first match of the spring and he played well enough to give himself a chance against a very good opponent."
 
ACU takes on third-ranked Texas on Sunday at noon in Austin.
 
#25 Baylor 6, Abilene Christian 1
Singles competition
1. #32 Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Daniel Morozov (ACU) 6-1, 6-0
2. Ethan Muza (BU) def. Dario Kmet (ACU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Oskar Brostrom (BU) def. Cesar Barranquero (ACU) 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (14-12), 1-0 (13-11)
4. Marko Miladinovic (BU) def. Benjamin McDonald (ACU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Merse Deli (ACU) def. Louis Bowden (BU) 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (13-11)
6. Martin Breysach (BU) def. Dennis Dutine (ACU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
Doubles competition
1. Zsombor Velcz/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Daniel Morozov/Ethan Scribner (ACU) 6-2
2. Oskar Brostrom/Martin Breysach (BU) def. Benjamin McDonald/Merse Deli (ACU) 6-1
3. Luc Koenig/Christopher Frantzen (BU) vs. Dario Kmet/Mihaly Deli (ACU) 4-3, unfinished
 
Match Notes:
Abilene Christian 0-1
Baylor 1-0; National ranking #25
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,4,2,6,5,3)
A-146