California Baptist University
Concordia
SWEET REVENGE
5/15/2009 2:15:00 AM | Men's Track
MOBILE, Ala. --- There is adversity, and then there is what Gabor Toth faced Thursday.
California Baptist University's No. 6 singles' player played through a bloody blister on his foot, a hole in his shoe and three broken rackets. Oh yeah, and a 4-0 deficit in the opening set.
None of that mattered to the 6' 2” Hungarian, however, as he overcame it all to get a well-earned 6-4, 7-6 win over Bruno Santarelli, providing the match-clinching point in a 5-2 win over Concordia to advance the Lancers to Friday's semifinals at the 2009 NAIA Men's Tennis National Championships at the Mobile Tennis Center.
The win improves the fourth-seed Lancers to 19-2 overall. They will face top-seed and three-time defending national champion Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) in the semis. The Eagles conclude their season at 17-6.
It was two weeks ago to the day when Concordia pulled off a stunning 5-4 upset of the Lancers on the final day of the regular season that kept them from winning a share of the GSAC title. Oh how revenge is sweet.
“We got the one that really matters,” said CBU Head Coach Chris Taylor. “At our team meeting last night, it was evident that the guys were still stinging from the earlier loss to Concordia. Emotions were already running high because it's the national tournament, but then you add in the emotions that are there because of the history between these good teams and it made for an intense day. We talked about heart, and the guys showed it today. It was simply a matter of wanting it more.”
And nobody wanted it more than Toth.
After dropping an emotional tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles, Toth immediately fell into a 4-0 hole in the first set to Santarelli. He rebounded to win six straight games to take the first set. Having already broken a string on his first racket in doubles, Toth then cracked the frame on his back-up racket when he was leading 5-4. Then, up a set but down 0-2 in the second set, Toth cracked the frame on his third and last available racket. With no other racket to use, he had no other choice but to play the rest of the way with the broken racket. It didn't deter him.
Toth battled back from the deficit to force a tiebreaker, but there he fell behind 3-1. He ripped off the next three points to take a 4-3 lead but then trailed 5-4. However, Toth rallied and scored the final three points of the tiebreak to win the match and seal the victory for the Lancers.
“Gabby was hurting emotionally and physically after doubles, but he collected himself and played through even more adversity to bring the win home,” said Taylor. “That was a gutsy performance.”
Alessandro Ventre and Martin Vaisse worked for a quick 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles, winning seven of the final eight games. The Eagles, though, picked up an 8-6 win at No. 2 to even things up. All eyes turned to No. 3 where Toth and Lucas Pereira were in a battle. They trailed 7-5 and broke the Eagles' serve to remain in the match. Eventually, they took an 8-7 lead before being forced to a tiebreaker. Toth and Pereira led 5-3 in the tiebreaker, but Ryan McNamara and Tom Young won the final four points to give the Eagles a healthy 2-1 lead heading into singles.
In singles, the Lancers immediately went to work, going up a set on all six courts.
“Going down 2-1 planted a seed of doubt, but the guys stayed confident and made a statement by getting up a set in all six singles' matches,” said Taylor.
Pereira was the first one off the court when he thumped Oliver Fabre, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 4 to even the match at 2-2. Meanwhile at No. 1, Ventre dug himself into a 5-3 hole in the first set against Andrey Potapkin. He won the next game to get within 5-4, but Potapkin was serving and leading 40-15 with two set points. Ventre staved off the set points and proceeded to reel off 10 straight games for what turned out to be a 7-5, 6-0 thumping of Potapkin to give the Lancers a 3-2 lead they wouldn't lose.
“Alessandro set the tone from the start,” said Taylor. “He worked with Martin to get off the court quickly in doubles, and then he put the team on his back in singles. It takes all six guys working together, but the way he won his match is quite possibly what put us over the top today.”
Still, even with a 3-2 lead in the match there was still work to do.
Vaisse put the finishing touches on 6-4, 6-3 win over Kareem Berdai at No. 3 to get the Lancers within one point from the win. While Toth was battling at No. 6, Concordia was doing all it could to swing the momentum in its favor in an attempt to keep its season alive.
Both Augusto Elias at No. 2 and Young at No. 5 evened their matches up at one set apiece but it was too little too late as Toth provided the winner sending the Lancers to their first-ever semifinal appearance.
