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Coetzee Drops Three-Set Decision in NCAA Men's Tennis First Round
Sophomore finishes season 28-11.
May 22, 2002
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - University of New Mexico sophomore Divan Coetzee dropped a three-set decision, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-2, to 41st-ranked David Loewenthal of Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championship in College Station Texas. Coetzee, who was a first team all-Mountain West Conference selection, finishes his stellar year with a 28-11 record. "I'm just proud of Divan for making it this far, that is an accomplishment in itself" head coach Alan Dils said. "He's got two more years here, so next year he'll be familiar with this atmosphere and get a chance to advance. I know he is of the same caliber as a lot of the players here right now." Coetzee started off on a good note, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Loewenthal stormed back to even things at 6-6, then jumped out to a 6-1 advantage in the tiebreaker. Coetzee was able to stave off four set points before Loewenthal took the tiebreaker 7-5. Coetzee forced a third set by winning the second frame 6-1, but fell down 4-0 in the third before finally losing 6-2.
"Divan didn't play like we had hoped, and I think a lot of that had to do
with inexperience," Dils said. "He didn't play bad, but he just never
looked comfortable or got into his groove. This is a tough atmosphere to
play in. This is a good learning experience for him."
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