Texas Tech Athletics
Michigan State
Red Raiders win Diablos Tennis Tournament in Arizona
March 12, 2023 | Men's Tennis
TEMPE, Ariz. – It was an undefeated weekend for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, who on Sunday evening, won the Diablos Tennis Tournament with a 4-2 victory against the No. 24-ranked Memphis Tigers at the Kiwanis Tennis Center.
The Red Raiders would face the No. 67 Michigan State Spartans in the first round on Friday, posting a 4-0 victory in the process. They then advanced to the finals with a gritty win against the No. 31 Arizona State Sun Devils, 4-3, to move to 3-0 on the weekend.
At the tournament, junior Olle Wallin and freshman Lorenzo Esquici led the team with three singles wins apiece, as Wallin's victories were all against ranked opponents at the top of the lineup. Senior Reed Collier was right behind with a couple singles wins of his own. In doubles, Sebastian Abboud and Esquici posted a team-best two wins and one doubles point clinch.
TTU 4, Michigan State 0 Recap:
The Red Raiders had a first-round matchup against the No. 67-ranked Michigan State Spartans (5-6). Tech would go ahead 1-0 after winning the doubles point thanks to victories at courts two and three. First, Abboud and Esquici defeated the MSU pairing of Graydon Lair and Kazuki Matsuno, 6-2, at three. Then, Piotr Pawlak and Franco Ribero clinched the point with a 6-3 win at court two over Reed Crocker and Anthony Pero.
Tech continued to dominate in singles as they won three-consecutive matches to sweep the Spartans, their fourth of the year. At court three, Collier got things going with a straight set win against Pero, 6-3, 6-2.
Esquici followed with a victory against Lair at court five by a 6-3, 7-6 (3) score. For the first time this season, Wallin, who is ranked No. 123 by the ITA, would clinch the match with a huge win over No. 29 Ozan Baris at court one, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
TTU 4, Arizona State 3 Recap:
In the semifinals, Tech took on host-team and No. 31-ranked Arizona State (10-4). In doubles, the Red Raiders won what would be a crucial point in the match, making it their 10th doubles point this season.
At court one, the No. 45-ranked tandem of Dimitrios Azoidis and Collier would beat the ASU duo of Jacob Bullard and Murphy Cassone by a 6-2 score. Then, Abboud and Esquici would clinch the point at court three when they defeated Roi Ginat and Constantinos Koshis, 6-4.
Both teams were battling in singles as the match went down to the wire. Over at court one, Wallin would pick up his second ranked victory of the tournament and fourth overall when he overtook No. 57 Cassone, the 2022 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, by a score of 6-2, 6-1.
Arizona State would win the next two points at courts six and four to tie things up at 2-all. But, Esquici would collect his second win of the competition at court five when he beat Ginat, 6-4, 7-6 (2), to put Tech up 3-2.
Again, the Sun Devils would tie it up when they won a match at court three. It all came down to court two as Ribero was locked in a battle with Max McKennon. Ribero would drop the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (5), before forcing a third set with a 6-4 set two score. In set three, the Red Raider would prevail and clinch his second match of the season by a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 score to send Tech to the tournament finals.
TTU 4, Memphis 2 Recap:
It would be a tough final as Texas Tech was taking on the No. 24 Memphis Tigers (8-3) for the championship. Memphis got off to a hot start as they took two of three matches in doubles to claim the 1-0 lead. At court two, Pawlak and Ribero were able to get the win against Harry Rock and Juan Zabala, 6-3, but the Tigers closed it out with a court one victory.
The Red Raiders need four singles wins to claim the trophy, and they did just that. First, Collier posted a commanding win over Oscar Cutting at line four. He won his first set by a 6-2 score before posting a bagel, 6-0, in set two to win it.
No. 123 Wallin posted his third straight ranked victory when he defeated No. 48 Pablo Alemany at court one in three sets. He fell in set one, 4-6, before rallying back and winning the next two sets by 6-1, 6-3 scores, putting Tech up 2-1. Azoidis recorded another win for the Red Raiders at court six against Rock with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 match.
Memphis tried to close the gap, picking up a victory at court three to make it 3-2, but the Red Raiders would close it out. With his team-best fourth match clinch, it was Esquici who was the hero on the final day of the tournament. At court five, Esquici was taking on Jeremy Taylor, winning the first set in a 7-6 breaker before falling 6-3 in the next. In the third and final set, Esquici would win 6-4 on a double fault from Taylor to clinch the match and trophy for the Red Raiders. When the match was finished, Ribero was also ahead of David Stevenson at court two in the third set, 6-5.
Up next, the Red Raiders travel to Eugene, Ore., for two matches against Oregon and BYU on March 16-17.
#50 TTU 4, #67 Michigan State 0
RESULTS
Singles
1. #123 Olle Wallin (TTU) def. #29 Ozan Baris (MSUM) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
2. Franco Ribero (TTU) vs. Max Sheldon (MSUM) 7-6, 4-2, unfinished
3. Reed Collier (TTU) def. Anthony Pero (MSUM) 6-3, 6-2
4. Dimitrios Azoidis (TTU) vs. Luke Baylis (MSUM) 6-3, 6-6, unfinished
5. Lorenzo Esquici (TTU) def. Graydon Lair (MSUM) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Sebastian Abboud (TTU) vs. David Saye (MSUM) 6-3, 4-6, unfinished
Doubles
1. #45 Dimitrios Azoidis/Reed Collier (TTU) vs. #20 Ozan Baris/Max Sheldon (MSUM) 4-4, unfinished
2. Piotr Pawlak/Franco Ribero (TTU) def. Reed Crocker/Anthony Pero (MSUM) 6-3
3. Sebastian Abboud/Lorenzo Esquici (TTU) def. Graydon Lair/Kazuki Matsuno (MSUM) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (3, 5, 1)
#50 TTU 4, #31 Arizona State 3
RESULTS
Singles
1. #123 Olle Wallin (TTU) def. #57 Murphy Cassone (ASU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Franco Ribero (TTU) def. Max McKennon (ASU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-3
3. Jacob Bullard (ASU) def. Reed Collier (TTU) 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
4. Constantinos Koshis (ASU) def. Dimitrios Azoidis (TTU) 6-3, 7-5
5. Lorenzo Esquici (TTU) def. Roi Ginat (ASU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
6. Spencer Brachman (ASU) def. Sebastian Abboud (TTU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Doubles
1. #45 Dimitrios Azoidis/Reed Collier (TTU) def. Jacob Bullard/Murphy Cassone (ASU) 6-2
2. Spencer Brachman/Max McKennon (ASU) vs. Piotr Pawlak/Franco Ribero (TTU) 4-5, unfinished
3. Sebastian Abboud/Lorenzo Esquici (TTU) def. Roi Ginat/Constantinos Koshis (ASU) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3); Singles (1, 6, 4, 5, 3, 2)
#50 TTU 4, #24 Memphis 2
RESULTS
Singles
1. #123 Olle Wallin (TTU) def. #48 Pablo Alemany (MEM-M) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
2. David Stevenson (MEM-M) vs. Franco Ribero (TTU) 6-2, 4-6, 5-6, unfinished
3. Conor Gannon (MEM-M) def. Isaac Arevalo (TTU) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. Reed Collier (TTU) def. Oscar Cutting (MEM-M) 6-2, 6-0
5. Lorenzo Esquici (TTU) def. Jeremy Taylor (MEM-M) 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
6. Dimitrios Azoidis (TTU) def. Harry Rock (MEM-M) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles
1. David Stevenson/Jeremy Taylor (MEM-M) def. #45 Dimitrios Azoidis/Reed Collier (TTU) 6-4
2. Piotr Pawlak/Franco Ribero (TTU) def. Harry Rock/Juan Zabala (MEM-M) 6-3
3. Pablo Alemany/Oscar Cutting (MEM-M) def. Sebastian Abboud/Lorenzo Esquici (TTU) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (4, 1, 6, 3, 5)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,5,1
Players Mentioned
