Fresno State Athletics
Luczak Upset In First Round Of NCAA Singles Championships
5/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 24, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. -- All-American Peter Luczak's memorable season came to an end Thursday afternoon, as the Bulldog senior was upset by Tennessee's Mark Parsons 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship in Athens, Ga.
"Parsons has played well all week and I knew coming into the match it would be tough, "said Luczak, after suffering his first loss of the season. "I had played well all season but just couldn't get it done in the tournament. It was really tiring in the third set."
Four of the tournament's top-8 seeds were eliminated on the opening day of competition: No. 2 Alex Kim of Stanford, No. 4 Luczak of Fresno State, No. 6 Oskar Johansson of Arkansas and No. 8 Bo Hodge of Georgia. Hodge was forced to withdraw with a torn muscle.
Luczak, ranked No. 3 nationally, was tabbed as the tournament's No. 4 overall seed but failed to advance past the opening round. After winning the first set, Parsons caught fire and began to slowly wear down the All-WAC first team selection en route to the victory. Parsons, Tennessee's No. 1 singles player, was a key contributor in the Volunteer's impressive tournament run before falling to Georgia 4-1 in the championship match yesterday. Parsons will square off against Pepperdine's Al Garland in the second round tomorrow.
Luczak concludes his stellar senior season with a 27-1 overall record. He was recently named the 2001 Ted A. Farnsworth/ITA National Senior Player of the Year, as well as the John Van Nostrand Memorial Award winner. The Melbourne, Australia, native ends his Bulldog career with a 108-35 singles record- the most singles victories in Fresno State history. The loss to Parsons was the Luczak's first since being defeated 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 by Carlos Drada of Kentucky in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Singles Championships exactly one year ago on May 24.
Prior to today's match, only five players had won a set against Luczak, as he proceeded to piece together the longest winning streak in Fresno State men's tennis history (27).
Luczak will team with senior David Mullins when the NCAA Doubles Championships get underway tomorrow. The Bulldog duo will face San Diego State's team of Oliver Maiberger, who defeated the the tournament's No. 2 seed Alex Kim of Stanford today in the singles competition, and Adam Webster Friday in the first round. Luczak and Mullins are ranked No. 5 nationally and are 18-2 overall this season. The tandem has won 17 consecutive doubles matches since an 8-5 loss to Amer Delic and Graydon Oliver of Illinois on Mar. 11.
Luczak's Final Singles Statistics
Overall: 27-1
Dual: 27-0
Tournament Play: 0-1
Home: 11-0
Away: 7-0
Neutral: 9-1
Career: 109-35
