Alabama Men?s Tennis Inches by Clemson 4-3
2/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.- The No. 31 Alabama men’s tennis team upset No. 23 Clemson 4-3 at the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility, improving to 5-1 on the season.
“This was a tremendous win for our team early in the season,” head coach Billy Pate said. “Clemson is a team we are evenly matched with and poses a big threat, but I thought the guys handled it well and played hard throughout the entire match. We came out after winning the doubles point very competitive and I think that was the key to winning the match.”
Alabama jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead over Clemson, grabbing the first doubles match and eventually securing the doubles point.
The Tide’s Javier Bes and Billy Mertz cruised to a quick victory over Rok Bizjak and Ike Belk, 8-2. With the win, Bes and Mertz improve to 9-4 on the season at the No. 3 slot. No. 44 Joseph Jung and Saketh Myneni defeated Jermaine Jenkins and Paul Koenke, 8-4, clinching the doubles point at No. 2, while Dan Buikema and Mathieu Thibaudeau fell to Clemson’s Clement Reix and Ryan Young, 8-6, at the No. 1 slot.
Alabama extended the lead to 3-0 as Mertz and Bes picked up quick singles wins for their team, however, two consecutive Clemson wins put the Tigers in a good position heading into the final two singles matches. Sophomore Buikema defeated his opponent in the first set, rallying from behind in the second set to secure the win and the Alabama victory.
“It was really nice to get a win for my team this season,” said Buikema. “I knew I was going to be in the singles lineup today so I used practice to prepare for the match. It was good to get a big win over a ranked team before going on the road next week.”
Mertz earned the first singles win for the Tide, defeating Young in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, at the No. 3 slot. Mertz is undefeated heading into the fifth week of the dual match season, securing his sixth consecutive straight set victory today. Bes defeated Clemson’s Koenke, 6-1, 6-2, at the No. 4 spot to give the Tide a 3-0 lead.
Alabama’s Buikema overcame Carlos Alvarez after trailing in the second set, 6-3, 7-5 at the No. 6 position, to clinch the match. This is the first time Buikema has clinched a match this season.
No. 44 Jung fell to Clemson’s Jenkins, 4-6, 6-7 (4) at the No. 1 position, while No. 46 Reix defeated Alabama’s Sammy Struyf, 7-5, 7-5, at the No. 2 slot. Mathieu Thibaudeau fell to Clemson’s Bizjak, 6-7 (?), 3-6, at the No. 5 slot.
The Tide heads to Princeton and Columbia next weekend in its first two road matches of the season. Alabama will return to the Capstone on March 9 for their first conference match at home against Ole Miss at 2 p.m.
--UA--
Results
Singles
1. Jermaine Jenkins (Clem) def. No. 44 Joseph Jung (UA) 6-4, 7-6 (4)
2. No. 46 Clement Reix (Clem) def. Sammy Struyf (UA) 7-5, 7-5
3. Billy Mertz (UA) def. Ryan Young (Clem) 6-1, 6-4
4. Javier Bes (UA) def. Paul Koenke (Clem) 6-1, 6-2
5. Rok Bizjak (Clem) def. Mathieu Thibaudeau (Clem) 7-6 (4), 6-3
6. Dan Buikema (UA) def. Carlos Alvarez (Clem) 6-3, 7-5
Order of finish: 3,4,1,2,6,5
Doubles
1. Clement Reix/Ryan Young (Clem) def. Dan Buikema/Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) 8-6
2. (44) Joseph Jung/Saketh Myneni (UA) def. Jermaine Jenkins/Paul Koenke (Clem) 8-4
3. Javier Bes/Billy Mertz (UA) def. Rok Bizjak/Ike (Clem) 8-2
Order of finish: 3,1,2
