(MOBILE, Ala.) With a 5-4 loss in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Men’s Tennis National Championship, the
2011 season came to an end for Westmont Men’s Tennis. The sixth-seeded Warriors (13-6) fell to
number three seed Auburn Montgomery (25-3). The Senators advance to the semifinals on Friday when
they will take on #2 Embry-Riddle (Fla.).
In doubles action, Auburn Montgomery took a 2-0 lead by winning on the number two and three courts. At
number two, Tim Göranson and Lukas Zielen fell to Bruni Savi and Claudio Andrade by a score of 8-6.
“I felt that Lukas played so much better today at number two doubles, especially off the return,” said
Westmont head coach Mark Basham. “I felt we had a good chance to win that match. I was really happy
with the adjustment he made, but we didn’t quite get the job done.”
On the number three court, Philipp Mohr and Bence Toth defeated the Warriors’ Tiago Hayashi and Kent
Stormans 8-5.
“At number three, it was back and forth,” said Basham. “We just couldn’t hold serve enough. I think that
maybe there were some adjustments that I could have been stronger with, such as going Australian
formation when our guys were serving.”
At number one doubles, Carlos Lima and Bryan Cox faced the NAIA’s top-ranked doubles team in Boris
Obama and Loic Didavi on the number one court.
“We came out with a lot of energy,” said Cox. “I don’t think I have ever returned that well. I didn’t miss a
return since it was two or three-all in the match. We played steady and were ready for anything. We both
broke (serve) a lot and were ready to ride the momentum changes.”
Cox and Lima’s 8-5 victory kept the Warriors in the match, going into the singles matches down by one
(2-1).
But the Warriors soon found themselves in a hole again. On the number six court, Andrade posted a 6-2,
6-0 victory over Stormans to put the Senators up 3-1. Göranson’s 6-3, 6-3 victory over Toth moments
later on the number three court pulled the Warriors back to within a single point. Cox then tied the match
at three-all with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Obama at number two.
“I started out very strong in the singles match,” said Cox. “I hit three return winners right away. That propelled me to an easy first set. In the second set, he started serving better. However, he got pretty tight at 6-5 in the second set and I was able to hit some good returns to close out the set.”
Auburn Montgomery regained the lead (4-3) when Jouini Zinelabidine defeated Zielen on court number
five. Once more the Warriors pulled even with the NAIA’s third-ranked team when Lima completed a 6-4,
6-2 victory over Bruno Savi.
“In singles, I couldn’t be more proud of the job that Carlos and Bryan did,” said Basham. “And it was great
to see Tim keep his focus and do what he can do. They kept us in the match.”
With the match tied at four, it all came down to the number four court. Didavi held the upper hand over Hayahsi after winning the first set 6-4. Didavi then secured the win for the Senators with a 6-1 victory in the second set.
NAIA National Tournament Quarterfinals – #3 Auburn Montgomery def. #6 Westmont 5-4
Singles
#1 – Carlos Sachs Cirne Lima (WC) def. Bruno Savi (AUM) 6-4, 6-2
#2 – Bryan Cox (WC) def. Boris Obama (AUM) 6-1, 7-5
#3 – Tim Goranson (WC) def. Bence Toth (AUM) 6-3, 6-3
#4 – Loic Didavi (AUM) def. Tiago Hayashi (WC) 6-4, 6-1
#5 – Jouini Zinelabidine (AUM) def. Lukas Zielen (WC) 6-2, 6-2
#6 – Claudio Andrade (AUM) def. Kent Stormans (WC) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
#1 – Carlos Sachs Cirne Lima / Bryan Cox (WC) def. Boris Obama/Loic Didavi (AUM) 8-5
#2 – Bruni Savi /Claudio Andrade (AUM) def. Tim Goranson / Lukas Zielen (WC) 8-6
#3 – Philipp Mohr /Bence Toth (AUM) def. Tiago Hayashi / Kent Stormans (WC) 8-5
