Tide Rises to Challenge in SEC Men's Tennis Opener
2/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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No. 11 Alabama (11-0, 1-0 SEC) scored a 6-1 victory over No. 23 LSU (6-2, 0-1 SEC) in the Southeastern Conference opener in Baton Rouge, La. Friday.
“It was a great SEC opening win for our team and we’ve got a lot of momentum,” Alabama head coach Billy Pate said. “Now we have to find a way to put it behind us and get ready to play Arkansas, which will be an equally tough match.”
Alabama won the doubles point squeaking out a 9-7 win at No. 3 in the deciding match.
“Doubles set a tone for the match,” Pate said. “It was key for us to get the doubles point to get the early momentum.”
Alabama kept up the momentum as senior Maxim Belski and junior Chris Gostek each won straight-set singles matches. Chris Gostek notched his 11th straight singles victory for the Tide this season.
The win Friday night made another impact in the record-books for Alabama tennis as well. With the win the 2003 team moved into second place alone with 11 consecutive victories in a single season. The all-time record is 12 straight, set in 1973.
Alabama meets Arkansas in Fayetteville at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Doubles
1. Belski/Hiscox (UA) def. #14 Fisher/Hazley (LSU), 8-2
2. #40 Ross/Rutka (LSU) def. Brad Friedman/Mitchell (UA), 8-2
3. #60 Gostek/William Boyles (UA) def. Brandon Nicholson/Richman (LSU), 9-7
Singles
1. #63 Maxim Belski (UA) def. #47 Peter Richman (LSU), 6-2, 6-3
2. #73 Stephen Mitchell (UA) def. Jason Hazley (LSU), 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(10)
3. #119 Chris Gostek (UA) def. Sebastian Rutka (LSU), 6-2, 6-3
4. Geoff Hiscox (UA) def. Bryan Fisher (LSU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
5. Christian Brodersen (UA) def. Paul White (LSU), 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3
6. Cory Ross (LSU) def. Michael Ray Pallares (UA), 6-7(2), 6-2, 1-0(7)
