University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Big Ten Indoor Championships
Corwin Takes Big Ten Indoors Crown
11/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Nov. 3, 2014
Tournament Central | Final Singles Bracket
MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota men's tennis freshman Felix Corwin captured the Big Ten Indoor Championship singles title with two wins Monday, including a victory over fellow Gopher Matic Spec in the final. The Elm Grove, Wis. native became the Maroon and Gold's first champion at the event since 2003 when senior Chris Wettengel won it. Like Wettengel, Corwin made it through the entire draw without losing a set.
The final day of play at the tournament, held at the Baseline Tennis Center, began with semifinal action.
No. 2-seeded Corwin earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over Josh Silverstein of Iowa, while No. 3-seeded Spec made it an all-Gopher championship by downing top-seeded and 64th-ranked Dusty Boyer of Nebraska in three sets. After starting fast with a 6-3 win in the first set, Spec dropped a 6-1 second set. The Maribor, Slovenia native recovered nicely, however, and jumped out to a 5-0 lead en route to a 6-1 victory in the third set.
In the title match, Corwin and Spec went through a back-and-forth first set that saw Corwin eke out a 7-6 (6)-tiebreaker decision. Corwin pulled away in the second set to seal the tournament win by a final score of 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Both players capped impressive fall freshman campaigns. Corwin will enter the spring season with an 11-1 singles record. His only loss came to No. 16-ranked Dane Webb of Oklahoma in three sets. Spec finished the fall at 9-3 with two wins against ranked opponents on his resume.
No. 22-ranked senior Leandro Toledo will conclude the fall season for Minnesota Nov. 7-10 at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y. It will be the Hamburg, Germany native's second appearance at the tournament. He is 7-2 this season.
Singles - Semifinals
Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Josh Silverstein (IOWA), 6-4, 6-3
Matic Spec (MINN) def. Dusty Boyer (NEB) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
Singles - Championship
Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Matic Spec (MINN) 7-6 (6), 6-3
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