The University of Mississippi Athletics
Devin Britton Advances To NCAA Final Four In Singles
5/23/2009 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION,
The
In the second set, neither player could break each other, even though Clayton had a few chances. The two went to a tiebreaker where Britton (27-9) gained a break at 3-2 to go up 5-2 and ended up winning it 7-6(3).
The third set seemed to be headed in the same direction until the seventh game, when Britton was able to break Clayton and hold for a 5-3 lead. Clayton subsequently held his serve and then tried to break back, but at 40-30, Britton aced him to secure his spot in the Final Four.
“It’s pretty exciting to move on to the semifinals,” Britton said. “I’m just happy to be here. It (the match) definitely could have gone either way. It probably should have gone his (Clayton’s) way. He had a bunch of chances in the second set and luckily, I had a couple of big serves. I somehow squeezed it out, and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”
“Devin has accomplished so much in his first year, and he just keeps going,” head coach Billy Chadwick said. “Winning the second set tiebreaker the way he did was huge. It gave him a great boost for the third set, and he was finally able to take advantage and get a break. He (Clayton) played very well; the match basically came down to one break in that last set.”
Britton, the 2009 ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year, will face fellow SEC player, Arkansas’ Blake Strode, who himself won a three-set match against Texas A&M’s Connor Pollock. The other half of the draw features
The semifinal matches will take place Sunday at 10 a.m. To watch it live, go to www.OleMissSports.com and click on the link in the calendar box.
NCAA SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP COLLEGE STATION,
QUARTERFINALS Devin Britton (
