Oct. 10, 2008

LUBBOCK, Texas - Freshman Raony Carvalho and senior Christian Rojmar defeated the No. 2 doubles pair in the nation on their way to the semifinals of the doubles main draw Friday at the ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, Okla.

In their second round match, the duo defeated Wake Forest's Steven Formen and Cory Parr, the No. 2 doubles team in the nation, 8-5, before returning two hours later to advance to the semifinals with an 8-5 victory over Jason Jung and Mike Sroczynski of Michigan.

After falling in the first round of the singles main draw Thursday, Carvalho rebounded in the consolation singles bracket, advancing to the third round with a straight set win over Miami's Daniel Vallverdu, 6-4, 6-3. He would later take his second round match over Tim Puetz of Auburn in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.

In the Midland Racquet Club Invitational, seniors Michael Breler and Milos Kustudija and sophomore David Gonzalez all advanced to the third round of the singles main draw.

"I was really proud of the way Christian and Raony played today, defeating the No. 2 doubles team in the country," Tech head coach Tim Siegel said. "We had a good day overall with Raony advancing in singles at the ITA and the three guys winning in Midland. If we continue to battle and continue to improve, I think we'll be fine."

Carvalho begins the day for the Red Raiders Saturday, facing Andrei Daescu of Oklahoma at 10 a.m. Rojmar and Carvalho resume doubles play immediately after singles wraps around 2 p.m.