Men's Tennis Rolls at Crimson Tide Fall Championships
10/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Oct. 24, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The men's tennis team didn't let rain get in the way of its success Friday as the Crimson Tide picked up 13 wins on the first day of play at the Crimson Tide Fall Championships. Six of Alabama's wins came in doubles play, while the remaining seven were awarded in singles competition.
"It was a positive day for us as we were able to play a lot of matches and get several wins," said head coach Billy Pate. "I thought everyone hit the ball well and experienced success. The rain was pretty stubborn in getting out of here in the morning and played havoc with the schedule a bit for much of the day, but we were still able to get two rounds of doubles and a round of singles completed."
Andrew Felsenthal and John Lewis hit the court first for the Tide first dropping a tough 9-7 match to Patricio Alvarado and Felipe Sylva of USM. The other two Alabama doubles pairs in Dan Buikema and Saketh Myneni and Ricky Doverspike and Mathieu Thibaudeau had first-round byes before picking up wins in the round of 16. Buikema and Myneni paired up to defeat Vanderbilt's Charlie Jones and Bryant Salcedo 8-6, while Doverspike and Thibaudeau roped in the 9-8 (7-1) nail biter over Ike Belk and Kevin Fleck of Clemson.
In the white draw, both Tide duos won round of 32 and round of 16 matches to advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday. Michael Jung and Trey Walston easily took down Preston Lemon and Zachary Pine of Virginia Tech 8-0 in their first match and won an 8-5 decision later in the day against Vanderbilt's Alex Divalerio and James Moye. Creighton Blanchard and Houssam Yassine had an 8-3 win over Virginia Tech's Oscar Muchuca and Johnathon Pine in their opening match and an 8-2 victory against Gregory Bekkers and Wesley Powell of Georgia State.
At the conclusion of the two rounds of doubles, singles play took to the court where Alabama enjoyed several key wins. In the Bear Bryant draw Billy Mertz dropped a two-setter to Virginia Tech's Pedro Graber 7-5, 6-3. Teammate Thibaudeau also competed in the Bryant draw where he won 6-2, 6-2 against Georgia Southern's Joris Deweerdt. Lewis represented the Tide in the John Hannah draw picking up a win against UT Chattanooga's Pavel Vostrikov 7-6 (9-7), 6-3. In the Johnny Musso draw, Buikema enjoyed a round of 16 Bye, while Felsenthal outlasted Samford's Carl Abalos 7-6 (7-4) 6-4. Walston fell 6-3, 6-2 to Clemson's Kevin Galloway in the Joe Namath draw, and Jung advanced 6-0, 6-2 against USM's Oscar Muchuca in the same bracket. Doverspike had an easy time with UT Chattanooga's Chase Price winning 6-0, 6-0, while Blanchard netted the 6-2, 6-3 win over Steward McRae of UT Martin in the Gene Stallings draw. Rounding out Alabama's singles was Yassine who collected his win over Ike Belk of Clemson by scores of 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Matches will resume Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. (CST) at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium, Recreation Courts and Hank Crisp Indoor Facility with the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of singles and quarterfinal round of doubles.
For a complete listing of draws and results please click here.
RESULTS
Doubles
Patricio Alvarado/Felipe Sylva (USM) def. Andrew Felsenthal/John Lewis (UA) 9-7
Dan Buikema/Saketh Myneni (UA) BYE
Ricky Doverspike/Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) BYE
Michael Jung/Trey Walston (UA) def. Preston Lemon/Zachary Pine (VT) 8-0
Creighton Blanchard/Houssam Yassine (UA) def. Oscar Muchuca (USM)/Johnathon Pine (VT) 8-3
Dan Buikema/Saketh Myneni (UA) def. Charlie Jones/Bryant Salcedo (VU) 8-6
Ricky Doverspike/Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) def. Ike Belk/Kevin Fleck (CLEM) 9-8 (7-1)
Michael Jung/Trey Walston (UA) def. Alex Divalerio/James Moye (VU) 8-5
Creighton Blanchard/Houssam Yassine (UA) def. Gregory Bekkers/Wesley Powell (GSU) 8-2
Singles
Pedro Graber (VT) def. Billy Mertz (UA) 7-5, 6-3
Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) def. Joris Deweerdt (GSU) 6-2, 6-2
John Lewis (UA) def. Pavel Vostrikov (UTC) 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
Dan Buikema (UA) BYE
Andrew Felsenthal (UA) def. Carl Abalos (SAM) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
Kevin Galloway (CLEM) def. Trey Walston (UA) 6-3, 6-2
Michael Jung (UA) def. Oscar Muchuca (USM) 6-0, 6-2
Ricky Doverspike (UA) def. Chase Price (UTC) 6-0, 6-0
Creighton Blanchard (UA) def. Stewart McRae (UTM) 6-2, 6-3
Houssam Yassine (UA) def. Ike Belk (CLEM) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
Players Mentioned
