NO. 1 RADFORD DEFEATS NO. 5 LIBERTY IN SECOND ROUND OF 2009 BIG SOUTH MEN’S TENNIS TOURNAMENT

Rock Hill, S.C. – Top-seeded Radford advanced to its fourth straight Big South Conference championship match after defeating fifth-seeded Liberty, 4-0, in the semi-finals of the 2009 Big South Men’s Tennis Championship on Friday, April 17 on the campus of Winthrop University.

Radford took an early 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point. Ivan Salec and Mehdi Benhammou captured the first match at No. 2, 8-3, over Clay Cypert and Giancarlo Lemmi. Martin Sayer and Zack Watson teamed up to win at No. 1, 8-3, over Gregorio Machado and Chad Simpson.

The Highlanders dominated the singles play by winning at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 for a sixth straight win. Salec defeated Louis Steyn 6-1, 6-1 and Igor Ogrizek defeated Otavio Costa, 6-0, 6-2,  to take a 3-0 lead. Stefan Bojic sealed the match at No. 3 with a 6-0, 6-4 victory against Lemmi.

Winners of six straight and 12 of their last 13 matches, the two-time defending champs advance to their fourth straight Big South Championship with a 19-3 mark. Liberty concludes its campaign 12-10 overall.

Doubles
No. 1 – Sayer/Watson (RU) def. Cypert/Lemmi (LU), 8-3
No. 2 – Salec/Benhammou (RU) def. Machado/Simpson (LU), 8-3
No. 3 – Bojic/Ogrizek (RU) led Reyes/Steyn (LU), 7-3, unfinished

Singles
No. 1 – Martin Sayer (RU) led Clay Cypert (LU), 6-2, 5-5, unfinished
No. 2 – Ivan Salec (RU) def. Louis Steyn (LU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 – Stefan Bojic (RU) def. Giancarlo (LU), 6-0, 6-4
No. 4 – Chad Simpson (LU) led Mehdi Benhammou (RU), 7-6 (7-5), 2-1, unfinished
No. 5 – Igor Ogrizek (RU) def. Otavio Costa (LU), 6-0, 6-2
No. 6 – Zack Watson (RU) led Juan Reyes (LU), 7-5, 2-2, unfinished

- BigSouthSports.com-