By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cedric Kauffmann plays Doug Matthews (not seen) on Monday evening at Lunken Playfield during the Thomas E. Price Cincinnati Metropolitan Tennis Championship. (Leigh Patton photo) | ZOOM |

Xavier graduate Rob Bakker slipped under the radar at last year's Thomas E. Price Cincinnati Metropolitan Tennis Championship, advancing to the quarterfinals as an unseeded player.

But after his first win - an upset of sixth-seeded Ryan McCarthy - he learned that registering for a tournament in his native Beverwijk, The Netherlands, is far different than entering the Met.

"In Holland, you just fill out a form and send it in to play. Here, I guess you have to say what tournaments you played and who you beat," Bakker said with a laugh.

Bakker's first introduction to the Greater Cincinnati tennis community was at the Met.

"We knew absolutely nothing about him," tournament director Karen Montavon said about last year's seeding meeting. "It wasn't until after his first match that we knew he even played at Xavier."

Bakker, who's also an avid soccer player, earned recognition last year as a multisport Xavier athlete. Not only is he the first male athlete in 20 years to compete in two Xavier sports, but he is the first male in school history to win all-conference honors in both sports.

This year, Bakker filled out the form right - and earned the No. 5 men's singles seed.

Bakker defeated Mike Dektas 6-2, 6-2 Tuesday night at Lunken Playfield. He faces No. 3 seed Josh Osswald in the Met quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Bakker, a tennis instructor at Queen City Racquet Club, said tennis was his second passion when he came to Cincinnati; he originally was lured by Xavier's soccer program.

Both tennis and soccer are in Bakker's future. After marrying Xavier volleyball standout Jill Hampton in Northern Kentucky in September, the couple is moving back to Holland.

"Part of the reason we're going is so I can play more soccer," said Bakker, a midfielder. "But I want to play tennis, too."

RAIN DELAY: Lightning and rain suspended play at 8:35 p.m. Tuesday, leaving one men's singles match unfinished (McCarthy vs. Matt Poulos). Three men's doubles matches and four women's singles matches also were put on hold.

STILL NO. 1: Top-seeded Cedric Kauffmann cruised to his third match victory, defeating unseeded Doug Matthews 6-0, 6-1 for a berth in Thursday's quarterfinals. He'll play No. 8 seed Eric Thomas.

After Tuesday's win, Kauffmann spent 10 minutes giving 16-year-old Matthews - the tournament's second-youngest player - tips.

"(Matthews) is a good, young player. I was just telling him things to practice," Kauffmann said. "Win or lose, it doesn't matter. We're just having fun."

UPSET: University of Dayton student Rob Altenau, the No. 13 seed, pulled the only men's singles upset Tuesday. He surprised No. 6 Matt Dektas 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK: Jason Zimmermann, last year's men's singles runner-up, didn't even know he was the Met's No. 2 seed until after he defeated 14th seed John Williams 6-1, 6-2 Tuesday.

"Seedings don't mean too much. I always play (the Met) to have fun and work on things before school starts," said Zimmermann, a 2001 Division II state singles champion for CHCA and a Duke junior-to-be.

Zimmermann, who is recovering from tendinitis in his right shoulder and a right sprained ankle, will play the McCarthy-Poulos winner. McCarthy is his doubles partner.

SCHEDULE: Tuesday's suspended matches will be played at 5:30 p.m. today, with women's doubles to follow. Men's doubles begins at 5:30 p.m., with semifinals to follow.

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E-mail srussell@enquirer.com