Tulane University
Rice
No. 26 Men's Tennis Cruises Past Rice, 6-1
Apr 7, 2018 | Men's Tennis
NEW ORLEANS - The No. 26/21 Tulane men's tennis team collected its third straight win and eighth in its last nine matches with a 6-1 home victory over Rice on Saturday afternoon at the City Park Tennis Center.
The Green Wave (14-6) imposed early dominance on the Owls (9-15), taking advantage at crucial points of all three doubles matches. Sophomores Luis Erlenbusch and Tim Ruetzel closed out No. 3 doubles, 6-3, before the Wave's 54th-ranked tandem of senior Constantin Schmitz and Ewan Moore earned a 6-4 win - their seventh in a row - at the No. 1 spot to clinch the first team point of the day.
Tulane carried significant momentum into singles and did not let it go to waste, claiming the first set on all six courts. Freshman Hamish Stewart scored the first individual victory, cruising to a 6-4, 6-1 triumph from the No. 3 spot, before Ruetzelfinished off his opponent, 6-2, 6-2, moments later on court six to push the advantage to 3-0 in the overall match.
Ranked 11th nationally and the reigning conference player of the week for the last two weeks, Schmitz clinched the match and earned his eighth consecutive win with a convincing, 6-2, 6-2, decision at the No. 1 spot. The remainder of the matches would play out, as Erlenbusch notched a 6-4, 6-3 victory from the No. 4 position, before junior Tyler Schick recorded a 6-3, 6-4 win on court five for the Green Wave's sixth team point of the contest.
Rice would hold off the shutout with a comeback victory at the No. 2 spot in a third set tiebreaker.
Tulane will close out the regular season Sunday, April 8 for Senior Day against American Athletic Conference foe USF (7-14). First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m., with a pre-match ceremony honoring Schmitz.
#26 Tulane 6, Rice 1
Singles competition
1. #11 Constantin Schmitz (TLN) def. Eric Rutledge (RICE) 6-2, 6-2
2. Sumit Sarkar (RICE) def. #87 Ewan Moore (TLN) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 1-0 (10-5)
3. Hamish Stewart (TLN) def. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz (RICE) 6-4, 6-1
4. Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) def. Conrad Russell (RICE) 6-4, 6-3
5. Tyler Schick (TLN) def. Jacob Eskeland (RICE) 6-3, 6-4
6. Tim Ruetzel (TLN) def. Daniel Warren (RICE) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #54 Constantin Schmitz/Ewan Moore (TLN) def. Eric Rutledge/Sumit Sarkar (RICE) 6-4
2. Tyler Schick/Hamish Stewart (TLN) vs. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz/Conrad Russell (RICE) 5-4, unfinished
3. Luis Erlenbusch/Tim Ruetzel (TLN) def. Jacob Eskeland/Daniel Warren (RICE) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,6,1*,4,5,2)
Players Mentioned
