Bears Top UC-Santz Cruz in ITA Indoor Semifinals

RESULTS

Fredericksburg, Va., February 19, 2011 – In a rematch of the 2010 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Indoor Championship, the No. 6 ranked Washington University in St. Louis men’s tennis team rallied for a 5-4 victory over No. 5 ranked University of California-Santa Cruz on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of 2011 ITA Indoor Championship in Fredericksburg, Va.

Sophomore Gary Parizher clinched the match for Washington University, holding on for a 7-6, 1-6, 6-1 victory over Andrea Halabi at No. 4 singles.

Washington University, which has won four-straight matches over ranked opponents, takes on No. 4 ranked and University Athletic Association (UAA) rival Emory University on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. (ET) in the national championship match. The Eagles defeated No. 8 ranked and UAA member Carnegie Mellon University, 7-0, in the first semifinal.

This marks the fourth-straight year Emory and Washington U. will meet at the ITA Indoor National Championships. Washington U. defeated Emory, 7-2, in the third-place match in 2008, while Emory posted a 6-3 victory in the national championship match in 2009. Washington U. upended Emory, 5-4, in the semifinals a year ago.

Washington University continued its consistent doubles play by winning two of three matches to build a 2-1 lead heading into singles play. Senior Isaac Stein and Max Woods had the biggest win of the day at No. 1 doubles, upsetting the Division III’s No. 3 ranked doubles team of Brian Pybas and Parker Larson, 8-2.

Just minutes later, junior Cameron Chiang and sophomore Kareem Farah made it 2-0 with a convincing 8-3 victory over Erich Koenig and Sam Rogers at No. 2 doubles. UC-Santa Cruz’s Erik Rosner and Ian Stanley trimmed the lead to 2-1 with an 8-6 win over sophomore Adam Putterman and freshman Max Franklin at No. 3.

Pybas knotted the match at 2-2 with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Stein at No. 1 singles, in a battle of top-15 ranked singles players in Division III. UC-Santa Cruz took its first lead (3-2) of the match as Koenig posted a 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (7-5) victory over Woods at No. 2 singles. Koenig entered the match ranked No. 28 in Division III, while Woods was ranked No. 30.

Putterman rebounded from his loss in doubles for a straight-set win (6-4, 7-5) over Parker Larsen at No. 3 singles, tying the match at 3-3. A win by Farah at No. 6 singles (6-1, 6-2) got the lead back for Washington U. with two matches remaining.

Bear Notebook: Washington University is 4-1 against ranked teams this season … The Bears are making their third-straight ITA National Indoor Championship appearance.