April 5, 2008

Milwaukee - The Marquette University men's tennis team (12-6) held on for a 4-3 victory over BIG EAST Conference opponent DePaul (12-9) Saturday evening at the Helfaer Tennis & Recreation Center.

Junior Stephen Shao sealed the victory with a hard-fought 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 decision over DPU's Vanja Grgec. Knotted 6-6 in the third-set tiebreaker, Shao overpowered Grgec with a pair of serves to earn the decision at the No. 3 position.

"He (Shao) did a good job of battling back after dropping the second set," head coach Steve Rodecap said. "I think tonight's result really shows how much he has improved from last year."

With the victory, Shao is now 18-8 overall and 14-4 in dual competition. His 14 dual wins lead the team and he sports a 10-4 mark at the No. 3 slot.

"We got off to a good start in doubles and I was happy with the quality of our play," Steve Rodecap said. "The two quick singles wins obviously were a big help."

Marquette led the match 3-1 following doubles action and a pair of singles wins by sophomore Niko Boulieris and freshman Juan-Martin Paredes. Both players posted straight-set victories, with Boulieris earning a 6-3, 6-0 decision at No. 4 and Paredes claiming a 7-6, 6-1 win at No. 6.

DePaul, however, earned singles wins of its own at No. 1 and No. 2 to force the need for Shao's heroics.

Marquette moved ahead 1-0 following a sweep of all three doubles matchups. Sophomore Mark Rutherford and senior Brett Binkley improved to 24-9 on the year with a win at the No. 1 position and are now 10-5 in dual action as a tandem.

Marquette 4, DePaul 3 Singles competition: 1. Jose Moncada (DPU) def. Trent Hagan (MU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 2. Austin Doerner (DPU) def. Dusan Medan (MU) 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 3. Stephen Shao (MU) def. Vanja Grgec (DPU) 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6) 4. Niko Boulieris (MU) def. Ben Hartman (DPU) 6-3, 6-0 5. Alasdair Graetz (DPU) def. Mark Rutherford (MU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 6. Juan-Martin Paredes (MU) def. Bartosz Jozwiak (DPU) 7-6, 6-1

Doubles competition: 1. Mark Rutherford/Brett Binkley (MU) def. Austin Doerner/Jose Moncada (DPU) 8-5 2. Stephen Shao/Dusan Medan (MU) def. Alasdair Graetz/Vanja Grgec (DPU) 8-6 3. Trent Hagan/Niko Boulieris (MU) def. Adam Williams/Ben Hartman (DPU) 8-5

Match Notes: DePaul 12-8 Marquette 11-6 Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,1,6,5,2,3)