University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
ITA Regional Championships
Spec, Corwin Take Doubles Championship
10/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Felix Corwin and Matic Spec won five matches after a first round bye to become the ITA Central Region doubles champions including bouncing back from a 6-0 loss in the second set of the championship match to win in the tiebreak.
"We expected to be here and it feels good to win it all," Corwin said.
In just the start of their sophomore seasons Corwin and Spec have already accomplished big feats for the Gophers tennis teams. Having both competed in top singles spots for the team as freshman on the Big Ten Championship team and getting experience at the ITA All-American tournament this year, the two of them looked experienced beyond their years with their backs against the wall.
They beat Oklahoma State's Arjun Kadhe and Julian Cash who came into the tournament as the No. 1 seed. They took a tight first set 7-6 (7-2) but dropped the second set 6-0. In the tiebreak they won 10-6 to take home the championship.
"I felt like we could have a good result coming into the tournament," Spec said. "I'm glad we kept a high level of play throughout all the matches."
The two of them only teamed up one time last year. Despite not having many doubles matches together their on court chemistry is no surprise as they have been roomates since coming here as freshmen.
To get to the championship match they mowed through the bracket with an 8-0 victory followed by an 8-2 win to get into the quarterfinals. They followed it up with an 8-6 win to get into the semifinals and a tight (3-6, 6-3, 10-5) win to get into the championship.
"Great effort brings good results. They deserved to be in the final and found a way to win," associate head coach Urban Ljubic said.
Their Regional Championship win gives them a ticket to the 2015 National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships which will take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York from Nov. 12-15 where they will compete in a 20 team draw.
Players Mentioned
