Defending Champion Becker Out in Round of 16

©Colette Lewis 2005--

--College Station TX--
Old Dominion's Izak van der Merwe chalked up yet another big win Friday, as he used a powerful serve and baseline winners to eliminate 2004 NCAA singles champion Benjamin Becker of Baylor 6-4, 7-6(3) in the round of 16.



Van der Merwe, who upset top ranked Stanford senior Sam Warburg in Wednesday's opening round, traded inside-out forehands with the alphabetically seeded Becker, and gave away nothing in the fitness department. In the heat of the day, when trainers often outnumbered players on changeovers and coaches served as umbrella caddies, van der Merwe displayed no signs of fatigue.

"I never really cramp," said the 21 year-old South African. "I'm still waiting for that one. When it didn't happen on Wednesday (in his three set marathon with Warburg), it may not."

Serving for the match after breaking Becker in the ninth game, van der Merwe was unable to slam the door, giving Baylor's number two singles player a glimmer of hope.
"I played kind of a sloppy game there," said the 37th ranked van der Merwe, "but I played well in the tiebreaker."

The recently graduated van der Merwe took an early lead in the tiebreaker and when Becker's return sailed long on match point, the tournament was assured of a new champion.

"It definitely feels good to beat the defending champion," he said. "He's a good player, a very good player."

Becker, who lost his singles match in the finals of the team competition on Tuesday, when Baylor's 57 match winning streak was snapped by UCLA, still had that ending on his mind.

"Getting motivated for this individual competition was really tough," said the native of Orschotz Germany. "The loss is still in our heads. We're still sitting in our room and talking about it at night. Our only focus was the team championship."

His teammate Benedikt Dorsch, the tournament's top seed, has yet to see his collegiate career end, as he rolled over Illinois freshman Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-1.

Of the five freshmen who advanced to the round of 16, only one made in through, with Florida's Greg Ouellette taking out another seed, last year's semifinalist Franticek Babej of South Alabama 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.


In the most dramatic conclusion of a match on Friday, Babej was visited by trainers often during the changeovers and lost the last three games of the match, as well as his composure. Ouellette called Babej's shot long on match point, and though the umpire agreed, Babej did not, making an obscene gesture in Ouellette's direction and needing to be restrained by his coach in the moments following. The traditional handshake never was offered and several minutes later Babej was still distraught.

Ouellette takes on Dorsch on Saturday, while third seed Jesse Witten of Kentucky meets unseeded Jonathan Chu of Harvard in the top half's other match.

In the bottom half, fourth seed Catalin Gard of Ole Miss faces Pierrik Ysern of San Diego, and UCLA's Ben Kohlloeffel will try to stop van der Merwe.

The major doubles upset saw third seeds Dorsch and Matija Zgaga of Baylor go out to Auburn's Alex Schweizer and Gabor Zoltan 6-1, 6-2. But the doubles match and story of the day was Georgia Tech's team of David North and Marko Rajevac, who were fifth alternates when the tournament draw was made and now find themselves in the quarterfinals after a hard-fought 2-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5)victory over Tulane's Dmitriy Koch and Alberto Sottocorno.

"We were second alternates by the time we flew out here," said Georgia Tech coach Kenny Thorne. "I told the guys we might as get you out there, and see what happens."

North and Rajevac will face the top-seeded Georgia team of John Isner and Antonio Ruiz on Saturday.