May 28, 2011
STANFORD, Calif.- Juniors Bradley Klahn and Ryan Thacher remain in contention for a national championship in doubles at the 2011 NCAA Tennis Championships, thanks to a hard-fought three-set victory on Saturday afternoon.
The nation's third-ranked doubles team, Klahn and Thacher outlasted Florida State's No. 13 duo of Vahid Mirzadeh and Connor Smith 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Reaching the NCAA Doubles semifinals for the second straight season, Klahn and Thacher improved to 42-7 overall.
Sunday's contest marked the first time in NCAA Tournament play the Stanford duo was pushed to three sets.
Klahn and Thacher square off against Florida's Sekou Bangoura Jr. and Alexandre Lacroix on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Earlier in the afternoon, Klahn dropped a 6-4, 6-4 decision to third-ranked Rhyne Williams of Tennessee in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Singles Championship. It was only the second loss over the last two months for Klahn, who was attempting to defend his NCAA singles crown from last year.
Instead, the ninth-ranked Klahn wrapped up his season with a team-best 36-11 overall record.
Singles First Round: No. 9 Bradley Klahn d. No. 55 Jason Jung (Michigan) 7-6 (5), 6-2
Singles First Round: No. 4 Blaz Rola (Ohio State) d. No. 46 Ryan Thacher 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
Singles Second Round: No. 9 Bradley Klahn d. No. 17 Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) 6-1, 6-4
Singles Round of 16: No. 9 Bradley Klahn d. No. 22 Jose Hernandez (North Carolina) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Singles Quarterfinals: No. 3 Rhyne Williams (Tennessee) d. No. 9 Bradley Klahn 6-4, 6-4
Doubles First Round: No. 3 Bradley Klahn/Ryan Thacher d. No. 19 Brad Cox/Eric Quigley (Kentucky) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
Doubles Round of 16: No. 3 Bradley Klahn/Ryan Thacher d. No. 24 Clifford Marsland/Ashley Watling (Tulsa) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
Doubles Quarterfinals: No. 3 Bradley Klahn/Ryan Thacher d. No. 13 Vahid Mirzadeh/Connor Smith (Florida State) 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2