Tyler, Texas-The men's tennis team advanced to the semi-finals of American Southwest Conference Tournament for the second year in a row after picking up a 5-1 win over Texas Dallas in the first round Thursday morning in Tyler, Texas.
Under interim head coach Michael Skimbo, the Eagles (11-4) won two of three doubles matches to start the morning. Todd Turner and Bishop Bass won 8-4 in No. 1 doubles, and then Greg Knaggs and Trevor Scott won 8-5 at No. 2.
In singles play, Bass posted a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles to give Ozarks a 3-1 advantage. Corey Dillard was impressive in his 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles to push the advantage even greater for Ozarks. Knaggs then secured Ozarks' second round matchup with Mary Hardin-Baylor with a 6-3, 6-3 win at the No. 3 position.
"We had a strong showing from No. 1 and No. 2 doubles," said Skimbo. "Each played at a high level and pulled out impressive victories. Bishop was dominant in his singles match and Corey was also very impressive. Greg clinched it for us in a great No. 3 singles match against a quality opponent. Before getting pulled off, Todd was rolling in his match and was on his way to victory. Trevor and Spencer each split sets and were just getting started in third sets. Overall, I was proud of the team. Now we need to focus on playing a good Mary Hardin-Baylor team in the semi-finals."
The Eagles and Mary Hardin-Baylor (10-3) are set to start at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, with the winner advancing to the ASC championship match.
Singles
No. 1
Hrudhay Ravula, Texas Dallas
Todd Turner, University of the Ozarks (7-6, 2-1)
No. 2
Ryan Morton, Texas Dallas
Bishop Bass, University of the Ozarks (6-0, 6-0)
No. 3
Kalee Kuhn, Texas Dallas
Greg Knaggs, University of the Ozarks (6-3, 6-3)
No. 4
Grant Norris, Texas Dallas
Corey Dillard, University of the Ozarks (6-2, 6-1)
No. 5
Adrian Lie, Texas Dallas
Trevor Scott, University of the Ozarks (6-1, 2-6, 2-1)
No. 6
Andres Peirano, Texas Dallas
Spencer Turner, University of the Ozarks (6-2, 4-6, 1-0)
Doubles
No. 1
Hrudhay Ravula/Ryan Morton, Texas Dallas
Todd Turner/Bishop Bass, University of the Ozarks (8-4)
No. 2
Grant Norris/Adrian Lie, Texas Dallas
Greg Knaggs/Trevor Scott, University of the Ozarks (8-5)
No. 3
Kalee Kuhn/Andres Peirano, Texas Dallas (8-5)
Corey Dillard/Jacob Organ, University of the Ozarks