Jan. 20, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State will play in the finals of both the singles and doubles bracket as members of the third-ranked men's tennis team advanced Saturday in the 2007 Rice University/Downtown Club at the Met Invitational Indoor Tournament in Houston, Texas. The championship matches will be played Sunday.

All four Buckeyes who entered play Saturday are currently ranked in the Top 65 of the 2007 ITA preseason rankings. Sophomore Steven Moneke (Alten-Busick, Germany), the nation's top ranked singles player, was upset by his OSU teammate No. 62 Bryan Koniecko (So./So., Long Island, N.Y./Syosset) in the quarterfinal round by a 7-6, 6-2 score. Moneke's singles record fell to 17-4. Koniecko, the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, improved his season record to 5-3.

No. 42 Devin Mullings (Sr./Sr., Freeport, Bahamas/Ft. Lauderdale Preparatory) beat Conor Pollack of Texas A&M 6-2, 6-4. Mullings improves to 11-2 on the year. No. 46 Chris Klingemann (Sr./Sr., Bradenton, Fla./Texas Tech Independent) lost his quarterfinal match to No. 21 Adam Holstrom of Denver 6-4, 3-6, 6-7. With the loss, Klingemann falls to 10-3 on the season.

Mullings then met Koniecko with a spot in the final up for grabs. Mullings downed his younger teammate 6-4, 7-6 to improve his season record to 12-2, while Koniecko dropped to 5-4 on the season.

In doubles action, Klingemann and Moneke beat Joelson and Wooten of Texas A&M, 8-5. The Buckeye pair then topped Mok and Mueller of Rice, 8-4, to book their spot in the finals. Klingemann and Moneke improved to 3-0 on the year. Koniecko and Mullings downed Brown and Bucko of Baylor, 8-5. The OSU duo then fell to Holstrom and Persson of Denver, 8-6, and are now 2-1 on the season.

After completing the 2007 Rice University/Downtown Club at the Met Invitational Indoor Tournament, Ohio State opens the 2007 spring dual season Jan. 24 in Columbus against Butler (11 a.m.) and Xavier (5 p.m.) at the Jesse Owens West Tennis Center.

Saturday's Quarterfinal Singles Results
No. 62 Bryan Koniecko (OSU/5-3) def. No. 1 Steven Moneke (OSU/17-4) 7-6, 6-2
No. 42 Devin Mullings (OSU/11-2) def. Conor Pollack (Texas A&M) 6-2, 6-4
No. 21 Adam Holstrom (Denver) def. No. 46 Chris Klingemann (OSU/10-3) 6-4, 3-6, 6-7

Saturday's Semifinal Singles Results
No. 42 Devin Mullings (OSU/12-2) def. No. 62 Bryan Koniecko (OSU/5-4) 6-4, 7-6

Saturday's Quarterfinal Round Doubles Results
Klingemann/Moneke (OSU/2-0) def. Joelson/Wooten (Texas A&M) 8-5
Koniecko/Mullings (OSU/2-0) def. Brown/Bucko (Baylor) 8-5

Saturday's Semifinal Doubles Results
Klingemann/Moneke (OSU/3-0) def. Mok/Müller (Rice), 8-4
Holstrom/Persson (Denver) def. Koniecko/Mullings (OSU/2-1), 8-6