Auburn Upends Bama in Tuscaloosa After Rain Delay
4/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Things were looking good for the Alabama men's tennis squad Saturday afternoon. The bleachers were filled and the Crimson Tide was rolling, up 2-1 in its match with arch-rival Auburn. Then it started to rain.
The rain brought a halt to the match, and the Tide’s momentum. After a 1 hour and 37 minute delay with the match moved indoors, Auburn took control of the four remaining matches on court, scoring a 5-2 win over the Tide. Auburn improved its record to 8-10 (2-6 SEC) while Alabama dropped to 10-11 (2-7 SEC)
“There was a lot of energy out there today,” Alabama head coach Billy Pate said. “We had a great atmosphere, a vocal crowd and a lot of positive things going for us right off the bat.”
Auburn’s comeback was keyed by No. 1 singles player Gabor Zoltan Pelva. Pelva, ranked 29th in the nation, broke Bama’s Stephen Mitchell to take a 4-2 lead in the second set. Pelva served out the match, tying the team score at 2-2. Minutes later Brett Hunter broke Tide senior Christian Brodersen for a 5-4 lead in the decisive third set. Hunter held serve and put the Tigers on the hill, and the Tigers’ Robert Lathouwers downed ‘Bama’s Joseph Jung to clinch the match.
“I felt we were on the verge of closing that match out before it started to rain,” Pate said. “Then when we get indoors the momentum totally shifts in a matter of ten minutes. For whatever reason we just didn’t handle the delay well.”
Alabama handled the Tigers in doubles, winning the first point for just the second time in Southeastern Conference play. Freshman No. 3 doubles duo Eric Molnar and Mike Green, who have shown signs of improvement lately, broke through in a big way in the match, winning 8-2 over Auburn’s Nick Lane and Brett Hunter. Stephen Mitchell and Chris Gostek gutted out an 8-6 win to clinch the doubles point. Gostek scored the first singles win for Alabama, securing a straight-set victory over Alex Schweizer to give the Tide its second point of the match.
Alabama rounds out league play next weekend, facing No. 9 Georgia in Athens, Ga. on Friday before ending the regular season at home against No. 16 Tennessee on Sunday. Sunday’s match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
Auburn 5, Alabama 2
Doubles
1. Mitchell/Gostek (UA) d. Pelva/Schweizer (AU) 8-6
2. Lathouwers/Minozzo (AU) d. Jung/Murray (UA) 8-5
3. Molnar/Mike Green (UA) d. Hunter/Lane (AU0 8-2
Singles
1. Gabor Zoltan Pelva (AU) d. Stephen Mitchell (UA) 7-6 (8), 6-3
2. Chris Gostek (UA) d. Alex Schweizer (AU) 6-3, 7-6
*3. Robert Lathouwers (AU) d. Joseph Jung (UA) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
4. Nick Lane (AU) vs. Eric Molnar (UA)
5. Rodrigo Minozzo (AU) d. RJ Murray (UA) 6-2, 6-4
6. Brett Hunter (AU) d. Christian Brodersen (UA)
Order Doubles: 3-2-1 Singles: 5-2-1-6-3-4
