May 23, 2008

Andy Connelly/Ross Cunningham (Tulsa) def. Nick Cavaday/Jay Weinacker (North Carolina State), 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2

Talk about when NC State tied it at 5-5 in the second set . . .
Ross Cunningham
"We were just trying to pump each other up, and say leave it on the line, because we knew that if we lost it was our last match ever together, since Andy has graduated. We just wanted to have no regrets and play as big as possible, and if we lose there's nothing to be ashamed of, and it worked out. The crowd got fired up, we got fired up, and we put some good points together in the tie-breaker."

When you went up 5-3, did you sense that you could win at that point?
Andy Connelly
"We were real pumped. We obviously thought we could win the whole time, but whenever it got to crunch time up 5-3, we really wanted to concentrate on sprinting to the finish, not letting up, and really going for it, and not waiting for anything to happen."

Ross Cunningham
"We definitely knew how good those guys were, and if you give an inch they'll take it, like in the second set, but we really had to put the exclamation on every point. Even on my serve, we were up 40-love and they fought back. They never gave up and fought hard the whole way."

It looked like you guys didn't seem to get discouraged when they tied it up in the second set . . .
Andy Connelly
"In doubles, you can't really get discouraged because there's so much momentum in doubles and you can't let one point get you down. You have to move on to the next point and play every point like it's your last."

Ross Cunningham
"We've been playing doubles together since we were 11 years old. We've always kind of piggy-backed on each other. It seems like every time we've played, if one of us has struggled the other one will pick him up and get him pumped up. There has been so many tournaments we've played in our lives where nearly every match is like one of us plays well, one of us is down, but we'll fight through and keep charging on."

Andy, this could have been your last match . . .
Andy Connelly
"It definitely could have been my last match. It's so amazing having the NCAA tournament at our home court. We're so thankful to Coach Westbrook and all of our boosters who have allowed us to have this opportunity. I just didn't want it to be my last match. We had a huge crowd and didn't want to disappoint them. We were just worrying about going for it. We're not scared to lose, we were just going for it. There are so many good teams in this tournament, we're just going to play."

What did Arnau say to you guys in the locker room before your match?
Ross Cunningham
"He was pumped. He said now it's your turn."

#1 Somdev Devvarman/Treat Huey (Virginia) def. Daniel Buikema/Mathieu Thibaudeau (Alabama), 7-6 (3), 6-3

On the match...
Treat Huey
"We have played good doubles all year, coming here on these courts I feel we have a lot of confidence after winning the 2007 Ralph Lauren All-American in the fall. Both of us really like this place, the way the ball bounces. The ball just sits up and bounces real high on these courts and we really like that, so we run down a lot of balls. We are both serving well and playing some great doubles and we hope to continue that."

On the match...
Somdev Devarrman
"I think we have been playing some good tennis all through the start of the NCAA Tournament, even going back to the team championship we have been playing some good doubles. The courts are bouncing, we like it. The ball comes on the racket pretty nicely and we returned pretty well. We were both aggressive at the net; so it makes it a lot easier to hold serve. That being said, I think the most importantly we went through the match sharp and we are trying to realize the key points of the match and taking advantage of the big points."

#2 Robert Farah-Kaes Van't Hof (Southern California) def. Ed Corrie-Kellen Damico (Texas), 6-4, 6-4

On the match ...
Robert Farah
"We had a good doubles match. We were playing against a doubles team from Texas which played in the finals of the NCAA Team Championship, so they are a pretty good doubles pair. We played them earlier this season in Texas and beat them. So, we knew a little bit about how to play them and how they were going to play us. In the end, everything worked out well and that's what is important."

On the match ...
Kaes Van't Hof
"We played a good team; they were one team out from being seeded. They are pretty tough guys (Ed Corrie and Kellen Damico). We played them twice this year, one time they were up on us and one time we beat them 8-5. But, theses guys were in a tough tournament, you know they had to play four straight days and four tough matches. Lucky Rob (Farah) and I were fresh enough to hit on them early, got a couple lucky breaks and served well in the wind. So, we came out with a victory today and we are getting ready for tomorrow. "

#3 Carl Sundberg-Daniel Vallverdu (Miami) def. Kriegler Brink-Cosmin Cotet (TCU), 2-6, 6-2, 7-5

Talk about the match...
Carl Sundberg
"Both teams played really well, especially the last set. We came back and set two match points. At 4-5 and at love-forty at four all it was close."

Daniel Vallverdu
"It was a really close match and they were playing really well in the first set. We started to get really focused in the second set and started to get going. The third set was really close. It could have gone either way and luckily it went our way."

#4 Jonas Berg-Erling Tveit (Mississippi) def. Nathan Byrnes-Oleksandr Nedovyesov (Oklahoma State), 6-1, 3-6, 6-1

On the match...
Jonas Berg "It was hard playing in the wind. We played well in the beginning, returned very well and served very well. They just picked up there game a little bit and we had to stay on them in the third set. We started off well and just kept it going from there."

Erling Tveit
"We played pretty well. We started off real good in the first set. We got up a break and got the momentum going. In the second set, though, they started playing a little better. They broke us once and we were battling, trying to get the break back but didn't get it. Then the third set we played really, really well."

On the wind...
Jonas Berg
"Doubles is harder to play in the wind because its very fast. Its equal for both the teams, but its hard. You have to stay on your toes and work with your feet.

Tulsa Men's Tennis

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