AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta State senior Henrique Boturao rallied for a three-set victory at No. 2 singles early Friday morning to clinch a 5-4 Jaguar victory and send ASU to its first-ever Final Four appearance at the NCAA Championships at EP Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.
With the victory, the Jaguars registered their school-record 19th victory of the season and advanced to take on West Florida in the National Semifinals this afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
The Jaguars, who entered the postseason ranked No. 21 in the nation, claimed two of three doubles matches to grab a 2-1 lead. Team Victor (Cabellos and Guimaraes) won 8-4 at No. singles for ASU and the Jags' No. 3 team of Jan Labas and Jenner Stevenson also claimed at 8-4 victory.
Guimaraes then gave the Jags a 3-1 lead with a straight-sets win at No. 5 singles (6-1, 6-2). Labas put ASU in position to clinch the match with a 7-5, 7-5 victory at No. 4 singles.
Grand Canyon, ranked No. 9 the nation, countered with wins at No. 3 singles and No. 1 singles to force a 4-all tie before the match was suspended last night due to darkness.
Boturao won the first set, 7-6 (8-6), before GC's Frederic Schoelzel took the second set 6-1. In the third set, Boturao actually trailed 4-3 before responding with three straight games to take the set and seal the victory.
Boturao also won the clinching point in the Jags' 5-4 win over Drury in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.
Fans can stay up-to-date on the latest scores at www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2012-04-19/spring-championship-multimedia. Live stats and live video of selected matches are also available at http://www.athletics.armstrong.edu/cheer/xlive.htm and www.ncaa.com/sports/tennis-men/d2.
NCAA Championships -- Elite Eigh
#21 Augusta State 5, #9 Grand Canyon 4
Louisville, Ky.
EP Tom Sawyer State Park
May 17, 2012
Singles
1. Stephane Murray (GCU) def. #25 Bernardo Fernandes (ASU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Henrique Boturao (ASU) def. #22 Frederic Schoelzel (GCU) 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 6-4
3. Patrice Giraldi (GCU) def. Victor Cabellos (ASU) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2)
4. Jan Labas (ASU) def. Peter Kazianschuetz (GCU) 7-5, 7-5
5. Victor Guimaraes (ASU) def. Bastien Tonus (GCU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Ahmad Saleem (GCU) def. Jenner Stevenson (ASU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
1. Peter Kazianschuetz/Frederic Schoelzel (GCU) def. #13 Henrique Boturao/Bernardo Fernandes (ASU) 8-4
2. Victor Cabellos/Victor Guimaraes (ASU) def. Stephane Murray/Bastien Tonus (GCU) 8-4
3. Jan Labas/Jenner Stevenson (ASU) def. Patrice Giraldi/Ahmad Saleem (GCU) 8-4
Match Notes
Augusta State 19-9; National ranking #21
Grand Canyon University 12-8; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,4,3,1,2)