Alabama Men's Tennis Falls to Buckeyes on the Road
2/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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The 17th-ranked University of Alabama men’s tennis team (2-1) fell victim to a hot 16th-ranked Ohio State (7-1) squad, dropping a 6-1 decision to the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday.
The win over Alabama was Ohio State’s second versus a ranked Southeastern Conference squad in as many days. The Buckeyes also beat No. 6 Vanderbilt on Friday.
“Ohio State is a very good team,” Alabama head coach Billy Pate said, “but I think today that we found out that we’re a good team, too. There were several points where we had chances to turn the match around and get momentum in our favor. The score doesn’t really show how close the match was. (Ohio State) has played a lot of tough matches already this year and are very strong on their home courts.”
Alabama appeared to seize the momentum early, winning a competitive match at No. 3 doubles as the Tide pair of RJ Murray and Eric Molnar took an 8-6 decision. Then, up 7-6 and serving for the match at No. 1 doubles, ‘Bama’s 13th-ranked duo of Stephen Mitchell and Chris Gostek was unable to seal the deal as the Buckeyes rallied for a 9-8 (7-5) tiebreak win.
The Tide missed another opportunity to capture the early point at No. 2 doubles, when OSU’s Jeremy Wurtzman and Brenton Contini fought off a match point in the tiebreaker to stay alive. The Buckeyes eventually won the No. 2 doubles match 9-8, on the 24th point of the tiebreaker (13-11).
“Losing the doubles put us behind and made the rest of the match an uphill battle,” Pate said. “I think our young guys are now learning how important the doubles point is. If we would have won the doubles the whole complexion of the match would have changed.”
Alabama didn’t recover from the early blow, however, losing the first set in the first four singles matches. Alabama freshman Eric Molnar scored the Tide’s lone singles victory, winning in three sets over Dennis Mertens. Molnar is now 3-0 in singles play this year.
Alabama’s heads to Florida for two outdoor matches next week, facing South Florida on Friday and Central Florida on Sunday.
No. 16 Ohio State 6, No. 17 Alabama 1
Doubles
1. Scott Green/Wilson (OSU) d. No. 13 Mitchell/Gostek (UA) 9-8 (5)
2. Wurtzman/Brenton Contini (OSU) d. Brodersen/Jung (UA) 9-8 (11)
3. Mulnar/RJ Murray (UA) d. Atas/Mertens (OSU) 8-6
Singles
1. No. 1 Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU) d. No. 63 Stephen Mitchell (UA) 7-5, 7-6
2. Joey Atas (OSU) d. Chris Gostek (UA) 6-3, 7-5
3. Chris Klingemann (OSU) d. Christian Brodersen (UA) 6-0, 6-2
4. Devin Mullings (OSU) d. Joseph Jung (UA) 7-5, 7-5
5. Eric Molnar (UA) d. Dennis Mertens (OSU) 4-6, 6-1, (10-8)
6. Ross Wilson (OSU) d. RJ Murray (UA) 4-6, 6-4 (10-8)
