The No. 12 SMU men's tennis team ended a season to remember Saturday, as the Mustangs fell to No. 6 Duke, 4-2, in the NCAA Team Championships being held at Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
The Mustangs, playing in their 32nd dual match of the 2000 season, got off to a quick start, clinching the doubles point behind wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Toby Hansson and Jon Wallmark defeated the No. 1 doubles team of Duke, 9-7, while Dustin Mauck and Genius Chidzikwe made quick work of Andres Pedroso and Ted Rueger, defeating the Blue Devil tandem, 8-5, clinching the doubles point for SMU.
SMU fell behind early in singles action and could not catch up in the end. D. Mauck lost to Smith, son of tennis great Stan Smith, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, and Hansson quickly followed with a straight set upset loss at the hands of Duke's No. 1 player, Doug Root. Porter Jones gave the Blue Devils an extra boost, with his 6-4, 6-3 victory at sixth doubles against the Mustangs' Alexis Rudzinski. With the score now 3-1 in favor of Duke, SMU's Jon Wallmark answered the call with a 7-6, 6-2 victory against Pedro Escudero, gaining the Ponies' first singles point of the day. With two matches left, the Mustangs looked to be in good shape entering the final stretch. Gerardo Mulas won the first set at No. 5 against Duke's Joel Spicher, and No. 4 seed, Genius Chidzikwe, had battled back from a first set loss, going up 6-5 in set No. 2 against the Blue Devil's Pedroso. The Mustangs' optimistic outlook soon took a turn for the worse, as Spicher ended his match with Mulas quickly, winning back-to-back sets, to take the game winning point and advancing the Blue Devils to the round of 8 for an encounter with the Florida Gators.
With the loss, SMU ends its season 25-7 on the year. The year 2000 marked the third consecutive year the Mustangs have earned a berth in the NCAA Team Championships. Hansson and Wallmark will compete in the NCAA Individual Championships, starting Wednesday. Hansson, a senior, will compete in the singles competition and will be joined by Wallmark in doubles action.
Final Score: (5) Duke 4, (12) SMU 2
Singles:
No. 1 Doug Root (Duke) def. Toby Hansson (SMU), 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Ramsey Smith (Duke) def. Dustin Mauck (SMU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Jon Wallmark (SMU) def. Pedro Escuredo (Duke), 7-6, 6-2
No. 4 Genius Chidzikwe (SMU) def. Andres Pedroso (Duke), DNF
No. 5 Joel Spicher (Duke) def. Gerardo Mulas (SMU), 6-7, 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 Porter Jones (Duke) def. Alexis Rudzinski (SMU), 6-4, 6-3
Doubles:
No. 1 Hansson/Wallmark (SMU) def. Root/Smith (Duke), 9-7
No. 2 D. Mauck/Chidzikwe (SMU) def. Pedroso/Rueger, 8-5
No. 3 Jones/Escuredo def. R. Mauck/Venkataraghavan (SMU), 8-5
