2008 Woodie Awards
Tennis team ekes out win against Wofford
By Mychal Thomas
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Sports
Looking at a rough year, the UTC men's tennis team was able to salvage some of their season by defeating Wofford in Chattanooga for their second Southern Conference win of the year.
Peter Sauksa won the game-deciding point in his match at the No. 1 spot by winning in three sets to secure the win.
It was the final home game of the season, and so it was the last chance that the team's seniors were able to play at UTC.
"It was special to get big wins from our seniors in their home finales," said Coach Carlos Garcia "We needed every one of them today against a very tough Wofford team. Our hope is that this win pushes us through in a positive direction to the end of the season and the tournament."
The squad was coming off a tough stretch as they dropped two home matches, losing to Appalachian State University 5-2 on Friday and Furman 6-1 on Sunday.
The Mocs were winless in doubles competition, after being defeated by ASU 8-2, 8-3, and 8-5 but managed to win the first two singles matches.
Junior Peter Sauska, Budapest, Hungary defeated ASU Junior Bobby Lake, Boone, N.C. 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 while senior Badr Bouabdellah won against ASU senior Ryan Brookshaw, Pretoria, South Africa 7-5, 6-4.
The Mocs would lose its following four singles matches to give ASU the victory. Freshman Hasan Hamadeh, Memphis, Tenn. was able to win one game, but eventually lost the match to ASU sophomore Peter Jacobs, Pretoria, South Africa 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.
The Mountaineers moved to a 9-6 record overall and 2-2 in the Southern Conference.
The Mocs looked to rebound from the loss but fell again Sunday against Furman.
The Paladins are ranked number 76 in the nation and defeated the Mocs in doubles competition 9-7, 8-4, 8-2.
Sauska recorded UTC's only singles win with a defeat over Furman Jr. Bo Ladyman, Memphis, Tenn. 7-6, 2-6, 10-8.
In other singles competition, Furman junior Daniel Knauses, Greenville, S.C. notched a highly contested victory over senior Razvan Axente, Brailia, Romania 6-2, 4-6 which needed a third set superbreaker to post the win 12-10.
Furman moves to 7-10 overall and are undefeated in the SoCon, going 3-0.
The Mocs are now 11-8 overall and 2-6 in the Southern Conference.
They look to build their SoCon record as they travel to Statesboro, Ga. to face Georgia Southern Sunday, April 6 at 12 p.m.
Peter Sauksa won the game-deciding point in his match at the No. 1 spot by winning in three sets to secure the win.
It was the final home game of the season, and so it was the last chance that the team's seniors were able to play at UTC.
"It was special to get big wins from our seniors in their home finales," said Coach Carlos Garcia "We needed every one of them today against a very tough Wofford team. Our hope is that this win pushes us through in a positive direction to the end of the season and the tournament."
The squad was coming off a tough stretch as they dropped two home matches, losing to Appalachian State University 5-2 on Friday and Furman 6-1 on Sunday.
The Mocs were winless in doubles competition, after being defeated by ASU 8-2, 8-3, and 8-5 but managed to win the first two singles matches.
Junior Peter Sauska, Budapest, Hungary defeated ASU Junior Bobby Lake, Boone, N.C. 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 while senior Badr Bouabdellah won against ASU senior Ryan Brookshaw, Pretoria, South Africa 7-5, 6-4.
The Mocs would lose its following four singles matches to give ASU the victory. Freshman Hasan Hamadeh, Memphis, Tenn. was able to win one game, but eventually lost the match to ASU sophomore Peter Jacobs, Pretoria, South Africa 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.
The Mountaineers moved to a 9-6 record overall and 2-2 in the Southern Conference.
The Mocs looked to rebound from the loss but fell again Sunday against Furman.
The Paladins are ranked number 76 in the nation and defeated the Mocs in doubles competition 9-7, 8-4, 8-2.
Sauska recorded UTC's only singles win with a defeat over Furman Jr. Bo Ladyman, Memphis, Tenn. 7-6, 2-6, 10-8.
In other singles competition, Furman junior Daniel Knauses, Greenville, S.C. notched a highly contested victory over senior Razvan Axente, Brailia, Romania 6-2, 4-6 which needed a third set superbreaker to post the win 12-10.
Furman moves to 7-10 overall and are undefeated in the SoCon, going 3-0.
The Mocs are now 11-8 overall and 2-6 in the Southern Conference.
They look to build their SoCon record as they travel to Statesboro, Ga. to face Georgia Southern Sunday, April 6 at 12 p.m.
