Baylor's Grangeiro Saves Four Match Points to Give Baylor 4-3 Win over UCLA; Ohio State Blanks Tulsa

©Colette Lewis 2011--
Palo Alto, CA--

The last time UCLA and Baylor met, it came down to a third set tiebreaker in the final match. In a match that started in the late afternoon and ended under the lights of the Taube Tennis Center South courts, the round of 16 match in the NCAA team championships ended precisely the same way. But this time, was fifth-seeded Baylor came away with the 4-3 victory.

"We had the exact same match with them in Waco in February," said Baylor head coach Matt Knoll. "And they won, I think 11-9 in the third-set breaker. This time it just went our way. The teams couldn't be closer. I thought they fought incredibly hard. I was really proud of both teams."

In the February match, UCLA's freshman Clay Thompson was the hero. In Palo Alto Thursday night, Baylor's Kike Grangeiro fought through the nerves and the pressure to claim the a four hour and forty-five minute marathon for the Bears.

Trailing 6-4 in the tiebreaker in the final set of his match with Holden Seguso, Grangeiro, a junior from Brazil, fought off those two match points and two more at 6-7 and 7-8. But after several shaky serves by both players late in the tiebreaker, Grangeiro located his first serve, earning a match point of his own at 9-8 in the tiebreaker. Seguso, who had won a third-set tiebreaker in the regional to put the Bruins in the Sweet 16, missed his first serve. The senior from Bradenton got his second serve in, but without much on it. Grangeiro took advantage, hitting deep, and when Seguso's forehand went long, Grangeiro dropped his racquet and turned to face his onrushing teammates. After a few seconds of bouncing, hugging and screaming, the Bears began to seek out their opponents for handshakes.

"Every time we play against them, it's really tough, and the guys are really ready," Grangeiro said. "Last time it was 7-6 in the third, this time it was 7-6 in the third for us. When it came down to me, I think I have to give it everything I have. I wasn't feeling my best at the end of the match, but it just feels great. I'm really proud of all the guys."

For No. 12 seed UCLA, it was the first loss before the NCAA quarterfinals since 1988. But head coach Billy Martin showed no sign of disappointment.

"I'm still proud of my guys," Martin said. "We fought to the bitter end."



Next up for Baylor is No. 4 Ohio State, who took the doubles point from unseeded Tulsa, and rolled on to a 4-0 victory. With a win by Chase Buchanan at No. 2 singles, Ohio State led 2-0. Buckeye Matt Allare was down 5-2 in the second set against Tulsa'a Clifford Marsland at No. 4, but he took the final five games of the match to give Ohio State up 3-0. Balazs Novak put the Buckeyes in the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Tristan Jackson.

Ohio State and Baylor have not played since last year, when Ohio State traveled to Waco for a match, but did not play it when an argument over the outside playing conditions arose.

"We left when it was 45 degrees in Baylor and we didn't want to play inside," said Ohio State head coach Ty Tucker. "We just want to play in the quarterfinals. It doesn't matter who you play, it's going to be rough."

For his part, Knoll had erased the memory of the Ohio State controversy from his mind.

"What incident is that?," he said, when asked if there was any extra motivation playing Ohio State in the NCAA quarterfinals after that unplayed match in 2010. "I don't remember that. This is a new deal, and we've got to play well in a couple days."

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5 BAYLOR (22-4) 4
#12 UCLA (18-7) 3

Doubles (Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1)
1) No. 5 Maytin/Peers (BAY) d. No. 32 Brigham/Puget (UCLA) 9-7
2) No. 52 Ramirez/Rux (BAY) d. No. 57 Hardie/Inbar (UCLA) 8-5
3) Kosakowski/Seguso (UCLA) d. Bley/Grangeiro (BAY) 8-3

Singles (Order of Finish: 3, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5)
1) No. 37 Daniel Kosakowski (UCLA) d. No. 19 John Peers (BAY) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
2) No. 58 Amit Inbar (UCLA) d. No. 68 Sergio Ramirez (BAY) 6-7 (1), 6-2, 6-2
3) Jordan Rux (BAY) d. No. 79 Clay Thompson (UCLA) 7-6 (5), 6-1
4) No. 103 Adrien Puget (UCLA) d. No. 102 Roberto Maytin (BAY) 7-6 (3), 6-2
5) No. 97 Kike Grangeiro (BAY) d. Holden Seguso (UCLA) 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8)
6) Julian Bley (BAY) d. Maxime Tabatruong (UCLA) 6-4, 4-6, 6-0


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#4 OHIO STATE (33-2) 4
TULSA (21-8) 0

Doubles (Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2)
1) No. 24 Marsland/Watling (TULSA) d. No. 21 Allare/Kobelt (OSU) 8-6
2) No. 81 Buchanan/Uzawa (OSU) d. Arevalo/De Klerk (TULSA) 8-5
3) Novak/Rola (OSU) d. Ive/Jackson (TULSA) 8-3

Singles (Order of Finish: 2, 4, 6)
1) No. 4 Blaz Rola (OSU) vs. No. 27 Marcelo Arevalo (TULSA) aban.
2) No. 10 Chase Buchanan (OSU) d. No. 62 Japie De Klerk (TULSA) 6-1, 6-1
3) No. 107 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) vs. No. 88 Ashley Watling (TULSA) aban.
4) No. 50 Matt Allare (OSU) d. No. 99 Clifford Marsland (TULSA) 6-3, 7-5
5) No. 65 Devin McCarthy (OSU) vs. Grant Ive (TULSA) aban.
6) No. 111 Balazs Novak (OSU) d. Tristan Jackson (TULSA) 6-2, 6-4