Men's Tennis Defeats USM, BSC
3/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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| Sammy Struyf |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? The Alabama men’s tennis (8-7, 1-3 SEC) team completed a sweep Wednesday of non-conference opponents Southern Miss and Birmingham Southern and picked up its fourth consecutive win in the process. The Crimson Tide cruised through both matches defeating each opponent by the score of 6-1.
“We didn’t play particularly well overall today, but we’ve played a lot of tennis lately,” Alabama head coach Billy Pate said. “Its always good to pick up two wins. We’ll build on the positives and get ready for the rest of SEC play.
Sophomore Sammy Struyf helped lead the way for ??Bama on the afternoon. Struyf recorded a pair of straight set wins in singles and, alongside Andrew Felsenthal, earned an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles.
Mathieu Thibaudeau and Joseph Jung each picked up two singles wins on the day as well.
In the opener against Southern Miss, the Tide jumped on top early by winning the doubles point. USM made it interesting after its duo of Reid Bourgeois and Domagoj Anic won the second match off the court, but ??Bama’s Javier Bes and Jordie Kindervater pulled through with the point-clinching win at No. 3.
The Tide then cruised in singles, winning five of the six matches. Dan Buikema got things rolling with 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 5 over Andrew Poole. Jung soon followed suit before Struyf clinched the team victory by defeating Dylan Mezey at No. 4, 6-2, 6-3.
In the nightcap, BSC provided a challenge for Alabama, but in the end the Tide proved to be too tough.
With Alabama already leading 1-0, Struyf completely dominated David Ray at No. 4, winning 6-0, 6-0 to give Alabama a 2-0 lead. Thibaudeau was nearly just as impressive in his 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 3. It took Jung three sets to do so, but he eventually sealed the team’s fourth straight win by picking up his ninth third-set win of the season at the No. 1 position.
Felsenthal and Jordie Kindervater would later put an exclamation point on Alabama’s day by finishing things off with wins at No. 5 and No. 6 respectively.
“We have some positive momentum,” Pate said. “During the blue gray we started finding a little more confidence and that’s the thing that will help put us in position to be better down the stretch.”
Alabama will have now have a quick turnaround as it plays twice this weekend. SEC rival Tennessee will come to Tuscaloosa Friday afternoon for a match that is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Bama will then travel to take on Georgia Sunday in Athens, Ga.
Tennis Match Results
Southern Miss vs Alabama
Mar 22, 2006 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
#43 Alabama 6, Southern Miss 1
Singles competition:
1. #101 Joseph Jung (ALA) def. Domagoj Anic (USM) 6-1, 7-5
2. Javier Bes (ALA) def. Marc Lux (USM) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Mathieu Thibaudeau (ALA) def. Reid Bourgeois (USM) 6-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5)
4. Sammy Struyf (ALA) def. Dylan Mezey (USM) 6-2, 6-3
5. Dan Buikema (ALA) def. Andrew Poole (USM) 6-4, 7-5
6. John Koti (USM) def. Taylor Striplin (ALA) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles competition:
1. Joseph Jung/Mathieu Thibaudeau (ALA) def. Marc Lux/Andrew Poole (USM) 8-2
2. Reid Bourgeois/Domagoj Anic (USM) def. Dan Buikema/Andrew Felsenthal (ALA) 8-4
3. Javier Bes/Jordie Kindervater (ALA) def. Dylan Mezey/Tommy Maestri (USM) 8-3
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,1,4,2,3,6)
Tennis Match Results
Birmingham Southern vs Alabama
Mar 22, 2006 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
#43 Alabama 6, Birmingham Southern 1
Singles competition:
1. #101 Joseph Jung (ALA) def. Thomas Richter (BSC) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
2. Mauricio Engler (BSC) def. Javier Bes (ALA) 6-4, 6-2
3. Mathieu Thibaudeau (ALA) def. Matt Mabry (BSC) 6-2, 6-1
4. Sammy Struyf (ALA) def. David Ray (BSC) 6-0, 6-0
5. Andrew Felsenthal (ALA) def. Martin Crockett (BSC) 6-2, 6-1
6. Jordie Kindervater (ALA) def. Richard Walsh (BSC) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles competition:
1. Thomas Richter/Mauricio Engler (BSC) def. Joseph Jung/Mathieu Thibaudeau (ALA) 8-7
2. Sammy Struyf/Andrew Felsenthal (ALA) def. Matt Mabry/David Ray (BSC) 8-1
3. Dan Buikema/Taylor Striplin (ALA) def. Martin Crockett/Richard Walsh (BSC) 8-2
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,4,2,5,6)
No. 1 doubles played tiebreaker at 7-all
