UC Santa Cruz Sweeps NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Titles; Fitzpatrick Part of Both Championships
UC Santa
Cruz senior Derek Fitzpatrick celebrates his first Division III
singles title. (photo: Bill Wagner)
The University of California Santa Cruz swept the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis singles and doubles championships at DePauw University's Blackstock Courts.
UC Santa Cruz senior Derek Fitzpatrick became just the sixth player in the 26-year history of the Championships to win both the singles and doubles titles in the same year as he defeated Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) College sophomore Eric Butorac in singles 6-3, 6-2 and teamed with junior Nick Cunningham to defeat seniors Sloan Rush and Ed Rahn of Trinity (Texas) in doubles by a 6-2, 6-3 score.
"You know how people refer to "cloud nine?," Fitzpatrick asked after winning the doubles title. "Well, I'm on cloud 10."
In singles play, Fitzpatrick fell behind in the first set 3-1, but rallied to win the next five games in the set and then the first four of the second on the way to the straight sets victory.
" I just feel very grateful," Fitzpatrick said following the singles title.
Just four days earlier Butorac beat Fitzpatrick 6-3, 6-4 in the team semifinals.
"I've always wanted to accomplish this and follow in the footsteps of great players. I put more balls on the court (than the last match with Butorac), I was getting to more balls and feeling the ball well."
Fitzpatrick and Cunningham then won their doubles semifinal match over University of Redlands (Calif.) senior Steve Marshburn and freshman Brian Murphy by a 6-1, 6-2 count. Rush and Rahn knocked off the top-seeded doubles team of Butorac and sophomore Kevin Whipple 6-3, 7-5.
In the doubles title match, Fitzpatrick and Cunningham won the last four games of the first set to break a 2-2 tie. The second set was tied 3-3 before they won the last three games to win the match.
"You couldn't have asked Derek to play any better," Cunningham said.
"We played really smart tennis today," Fitzpatrick said of the doubles championship. " We made the plays we needed. We're finally learning how to be good doubles players."
"I love these kids, UC Santa Cruz head coach Bob Hansen said. "They both started out at six singles and they were really playing tennis today. They neutralized the opponent and played all the right shots."
The singles championship was the second overall and second in the last three years by a Banana Slug and the doubles title was UC Santa Cruz's fourth straight, extending their Division III-best count to six.
Wednesday's final is set as is doubles semis
Third-seeded Eric Butorac of Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) College will face fourth-seeded Derek Fitzpatrick of the University of California Santa Cruz for the singles title at the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships at DePauw University's Blackstock Courts. Match time is scheduled for Wednesday, May 23, at 9 a.m.
Butorac needed only 42 minutes to win his semifinal match against second-seeded Rosty Orach 6-1, 6-0. In the other semifinal match, Fitzpatrick knocked off top-seeded Brett Kaplan of Emory 7-5, 6-2.
In doubles play, the top-seeded team of Butorac and Kevin Whipple of Gustavus Adolphus face Trinity (Texas) University's tandem of Sloan Rush and Ed Rahn in one semifinal match. In the other match, the second-seeded team from UC Santa Cruz of Fitzpatrick and Nick Cunningham face Steve Marshburn and Brian Murphy of Redlands (Calif.). The doubles semifinal matches begin at 11 a.m. on Wednesday with the championship match scheduled for 1 p.m.
RESULTS
Williams tops UC Santa Cruz, 4-1, for second Division III title in three years
For the second time in three years, the Williams (Mass.) College Ephs claimed the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship as they defeated the University of California Santa Cruz by a 4-1 score. FULL STORY
UC Santa Cruz and Williams to battle for national title in rematch of 1998 final
Third-seeded Williams (Mass.) College (13-5) takes on fourth-seeded University of California Santa Cruz (15-5) for the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Team Championship at 3 p.m. on Sunday at DePauw University's Blackstock Courts. The championship is a rematch of the 1998 final that UC Santa Cruz won by a 4-2 score at Williams. Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) College (35-2) faces University of Redlands (Calif.) (21-5) in the third-place match at noon.
The Ephs from Williamstown, Mass., defeated second-seeded Redlands 4-0 in Saturday's second semifinal match. In quarterfinals play on Friday they beat Washington (Md.) College 4-2. The Banana Slugs from Santa Cruz., Calif., came back from a 3-1 deficit against Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) College to win 4-3 in Saturday's first semifinal match. On Friday they topped Emory 4-0 in quarterfinal action.
Williams is making its third title match appearance in the last four years as it won the 1999 championship with a 4-1 victory over Kalamazoo College. The Ephs have appeared in seven NCAA tournaments since Division III play began in 1976.
UC Santa Cruz competes in its 10th championship match and has won four national titles with the last coming in 1998. The Banana Slugs finished second on five occasions and have played in 17 NCAA Division III tournaments.
Third-seeded Williams tops second-seeded Redlands to advance to second finals in three years
Third-seeded Williams (Mass.) College defeated second-seeded University of Redlands (Calif.) 4-0 in the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Team Championship semifinal at DePauw University's Blackstock Courts.
The win lifted the Ephs to the national finals for the second time in three years. They will play UC Santa Cruz for the national championship at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
In Saturday's semifinal match, Williams won the doubles point with an 8-5 win at number one and an 8-1 victory at number three. They then won in straight sets at two, four and five singles to take the 4-0 victory.
With the victory, Williams improved to 13-5 on the season. Redlands falls to 21-5 and faces Gustavus Adolphus College at noon on Sunday in the third-place match.
Williams won its first NCAA Division III men's tennis championship in 1999 in its only appearance in a title match. UC Santa Cruz has won four championships and finished second five times. They defeated Gustavus Adolphus 4-3 in Saturday's first semifinal match. Results
UC Santa Cruz rallies for 4-3 victory; makes 10th finals appearance
Gustavus Adolphus led 3-1 with three singles matches remaining, but the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs rallied to win all three and take a 4-3 win over the Gusties and advance to Sunday's Division III Championship match. The match was tied 3-3 and came down to number four singles. Gustavus' Mike Hom jumped out to a 3-2 lead in the third set, but Santa Cruz's Peter Gladkin won the next four games to send his team to the finals.
UC Santa Cruz improved to 15-5 on the season while Gustavus fell to 35-2. Both of the Gusties losses this season came to UC Santa Cruz. The Banana Slugs will take on the winner of the other semifinal match between Williams College and University of Redlands which got underway around 2 p.m. Sunday's title match is set for 3 p.m. UC Santa Cruz has won four national championships and finished second on five occasions. Results
Gustavus Adolphus 4, MIT 1
Gustavus Adolphus defeated MIT 4-1 to advance to Saturday's first semifinal against the winner of Emory and UC Santa Cruz. The Gusties improved to 35-1 with the win, while the Engineers dropped to 20-4. Gustavus won both doubles matches completed and three of the four singles finished. Results
UC Santa Cruz 4, Emory 0
The Banana Slugs two of three doubles matches to win the point and then won at two, three and five singles for the shutout. UC Santa Cruz improved to 14-5 with the victory, while Emory fell to 17-6. Results
Williams 4, Washington (Md.) 1
The Shoremen won at first and third doubles to earn the doubles point, but Williams came back with wins at first, third, fifth and sixth singles to win the match. After losing the first set at number one singles, Josh Lefkowitz knocked off Washington's Jose Lejarraga in three sets to end the match. Williams improved to 12-5 on the season, while Washington (Md.) finishes at 19-2. Results
Redlands 4, Kalamazoo 0
After wins at second and third doubles, Redlands earned singles victoris at numbers two, four and five to take the 4-0 win. Redlands improved to 21-4 overall, while Kalamazoo finished at 16-10. Results