May 26, 2004
QUOTES FROM Pedro Rico:
(defeated #4 seed Catalin Gard of Mississippi, 7-5, 7-6 (4))
Opening Remarks: "I knew it was going to be a really hard match, but I was playing good. I played pretty good in the regionals the week before, and I was practicing really good the last two days. I knew I could do something in the match. I played my game the whole time. He plays the same game as me, baseliner. It was a good match. I'm really happy and now I'll try to keep on going."
How he prepared on playing the #4 seed... "I didn't know I was going to play against him until yesterday, but when I knew he was going to be my opponent, I talked to my coach. He told me that he plays my game and that he plays exactly like me, solely from the baseline, and to keep going, work the point and when you have the chance come in, and that is what I did."
QUOTES FROM #4-SEED CATALIN GARD, MISSISSIPPI
(lost to Pedro Rico of Pepperdine, 7-5, 7-6(4))
"I think he played well. It is tough conditions to play down here. We came three days ago to try to get some practice in, but it is not the same thing as playing in a match. You have to play a lot of matches to get use to this environment. That is not the reason that I lost. I played all right. I had some chances to win, but I didn't."
On having some time off since his last match... "I haven't played a match in about two weeks. I hoped that I'd get through the first round and play better through the tournament, but it didn't happen."
QUOTES FROM PEPPERDINE HEAD COACH Adam Steinberg:
On the weather conditions in Tulsa, Oklahoma:
"The weather is really hot, humid, and windy here in Tulsa...it's much different than Malibu. Therefore, we have to drink a lot of water and stay hydrated. The conditions are definitely not easy to play in."
On Pedro's play today:
"Both of these players today are great competitors so it really came down to who wanted it more. It was a great win for Pedro...his mentality is what won it for him. He wants this [title] so bad."
On Rico's Next Opponent:
"I have seen almost all of the players here at some point, but Scott Schnugg is one I have not seen. Anytime you get to this point, every match is going to be a battle so it doesn't matter who the opponent is. All the players left are the best from their school so it comes down to who will be most prepared. If we can get Pedro rested both physically and mentally... I think he has the potential to go a long way."
On How You Prepare For The Next Opponent at Tournaments:
"I get notes from other coaches and people who have seen the players compete. Really, with Pedro you have to keep it real simple. There is not a lot of preparation that goes into it when you are working with him. There's no need to motivate him because he already has it in him. He's a self-motivator, hard worker, and determined. You can't teach those kind of skills."
NOTES
* Only the three of the top-8 seeds remain after the first round of the NCAA singles championship. The No. 3 (Jeremy Wurtzman of Ohio State), No. 5 (Phillip King of Duke) and No. 8 (Sam Warburg of Stanford) seeds are remaining after four upsets and one player withdrawal.
* No. 1 seed Brian Wilson of Illinois lost to unseeded Robert Searle of Rice in the first round (6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3). Wilson has now lost two straight matches. This is only the third time in his career that he has lost two consecutive matches (lost two straight in Oct. 2000 and three in a row in Feb-Mar. 2002).
* The last time the No. 1 seed lost a first round match was in 1996, when Justin Gimbelstob of UCLA lost to Phil Cooper of Wichita State.
* No. 2 seed Benedikt Dorsch lost to unseeded Franticek Babej of South Alabama in the first round (4-6, 6-4, 6-1). It snapped a 12-match winning streak for Dorsch.
* No. 4 seed Catalin Gard of Mississippi lost in the first round to Pepperdine's Pedro Rico (7-5, 7-6 (4)).
* No. 6 seed Jesse Witten of Kentucky lost in the first round to Stanford's KC Corkery (6-0, 7-6 (7)).
* No. 7 seed Tobias Clemons of UCLA withdrew from the singles championship today.
* Since at least 1977, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds had not suffered a first round defeat until now. Also, since 1977 never before have four of the top-8 seeds lost in the first round. In 2001, three of the top-8 seeds suffered losses inclcuding #2 (Alex Kim of Stanford), #4 (Peter Luczak of Fresno State) and #6 (Oscar Johansson of Arkansas).
