Koch Grabs Win at Duke Fab Four

Sept. 15, 2012

CARY, N.C. – South Carolina sophomore Kyle Koch scored his first singles win of the season Saturday at the Duke Fab Four Invite at Cary Tennis Park. He advanced to play in the consolation third place match on Sunday. Koch and Thiago Pinheiro combined to take fourth place in their doubles bracket as well.

In singles action, Koch opened the day with a solid 6-3, 6-2 win over North Carolina’s James Coxe to collect his first win of the season. The victory put Koch in the consolation semifinals against Radford’s Thomas Dehaen. The two waged a hard-fought battle that came down to a handful of points. After Dehaen took the first set 7-5 with a late service break, Koch was strong in the second set. With neither player giving way, the set went to a tiebreak. The two traded points throughout the tiebreak, but Dehaen managed to eke out the final two points for a 7-6 (6) victory. With the result, Koch will take on Chris Simich of Louisville in the consolation third place match in the White Bracket at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

In doubles, Koch and Pinheiro dropped a narrow 8-6 decision to Sebastian Stiefelmeyer and Albert Wagner of Louisville. The loss left the Gamecock duo finishing fourth place in the Blue Bracket of the event. Pinheiro finished doubles play despite pulling out of his singles bracket after the first round of play Friday.