NCAA Men's Tennis: UAB Moves Past Florida Atlantic in Round One of NCAA Championship

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - UAB's Tom Dalby and Alex Jung beat Florida Atlantic's Ben Cooper and Doug Devriendt 9-8 (7-4) to clinch the doubles point and win the deciding match at number one doubles in a tiebreaker as the 33rd-ranked Blazers defeated 45th-ranked FAU 4-2 in round one of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship Saturday morning at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.

UAB (19-6) moves on to face third-ranked Florida (25-3), a winner over Florida A&M in round one, Sunday at noon EDT.

The Blazers extended the lead to 3-0 with victories by 14th-ranked Martin Woisetschlager at number one and Kolie Van Zyl at number three singles, but the Owls closed the gap to 3-2 with wins at number four and number five. UAB rallied at number six singles to close out the match as Paul Shovlin came from one set down for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over FAU's Fabio Faerman.

"Florida Atlantic fought really hard today," said UAB head coach Derek Tarr. We were very concerned about the weather, but we managed to squeeze by at number six. We are happy to have the opportunity to move into the next round."

"I am proud of what this team has accomplished this season," said Florida Atlantic head coach Mike Wheelen. I was also proud of the way they battled back when things weren't looking so good. All in all, it was a great experience, especially for our three seniors."

NCAA Men's Tennis Championships
First Round - Saturday, May 13, 2000
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex, Gainesville, Fla.

UAB (19-6) d. Florida Atlantic (15-7) 4-2

DOUBLES
No. 1 - Tom Dalby-Alex Jung (UAB) d. Ben Cooper-Doug Devriendt (FAU) 9-8 (4)
No. 2 - Daniel Dauber-Juan Ros (FAU) d. Andre Van Der Merwe-Martin Woisetschlager (UAB) 8-4
No. 3 - Paul Shovlin-Kolie Van Zyl (UAB) d. Fabio Faerman-Sandro Spotti (FAU) 8-6

SINGLES
No. 1 - Martin Woisetschlager (UAB) d. Juan Ros (FAU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 - Daniel Dauber (FAU) vs. Tom Dalby (UAB), not completed
No. 3 - Kolie Van Zyl (UAB) d. Ben Cooper (FAU) 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 - Doug Devriendt (FAU) d. Alex Jung (UAB) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 - Sandro Spotti (FAU) d. Andre Van Der Merwe (UAB) 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 - Paul Shovlin (UAB) d. Fabio Faerman (FAU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3