May 20, 2009

LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech men's tennis player Raony Carvalho dropped his first round match in the singles portion of the NCAA Championships Wednesday, 6-4, 6-3, to Florida State's Clint Bowles at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.

Carvalho struggled early in the match dropping the first three games, but would rally to a 5-4 deficit before Bowles was able to close the opening set with the final game. Bowles would continue his dominance in the second set as Carvalho was unable to force a third-set tiebreaker.

Carvalho finishes the season with a 26-14 overall record and ranks No. 41 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. He was also named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and ITA Rookie Player of the Year for the south central region and also earned All-Big 12 singles and doubles honors.

Carvalho will have an opportunity to rebound Thursday in the doubles bracket as he and teammate Christian Rojmar face Diego Cubas and Ivan Machado of South Carolina at a time to be determined.