Three Alabama Players Still Alive in ITA Southeast Regionals
10/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
LEXINGTON, KY ?? The University of Alabama tennis team has three players remaining in the 2006 Wilson/ITA Fall Southeast Regional heading into the final day of competition.
Joseph Jung won two singles matches on Sunday to advance to the semifinals. He started the day with with a three-set victory over Ben Rogers of Tennessee in the round of 16. Jung jumped out to an early lead with a 6-3 win in the first set. Rogers came back to force a deciding set with a 6-4 victory. However, Jung, the seventh seed in the tournament, would come away with the match victory, winning the final set 6-4 to advance.
In the quarterfinal round, Jung squared off against Ken Skupski of LSU. Skupski, the third seed in the tournament edged Jung in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), in the first set. Jung rallied to win the final two sets 7-5, including the third set in which he trailed 4-1 before storming back. He will face the top seed in the tournament, Georgia's Travis Helgeson, in the next round on Monday.
"It was a fantastic day for us," said head coach Billy Pate. "It has really been a solid tournament for us. I am proud of the way Joe came back from a tiebreaker loss in the first set and a 4-1 deficit in the third set to win the match. He beat a really good indoor player, one of the best in the conference in Skupski."
The Crimson Tide's doubles team of Dan Buikema and Mathieu Thibaudeau also advanced to the semifinals with a win on Sunday. They cruised to an 8-3 victory over Nugent and Krnjetin of Auburn, the 10th-seeded duo in the tournament.
"Dan and Matt are continuing to play better and gain confidence," said Pate. "They are serving the ball really big right now. All of the experience we are getting will help us be a better team in the spring."
The Southeast Regionals will conclude on Monday with the final two rounds of singles and doubles. Alabama will host a hidden dual tournament to wrap up the fall Oct. 26-29.
