Men?s Tennis Extends Winning Streak to 6-0
2/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
IRVINE, Calif.- The 10th ranked University of Alabama men's tennis team improved to 6-0 on the season after defeating Cal-Irvine (1-2 overall) 6-1 on the road at Anteater Tennis Stadium today.
"I was proud of our resolve today after losing four first sets in singles," said Alabama head coach Billy Pate. "Irvine has a tough team and forced us to really battle in the singles. They had a great win over a top 25 Boise State team here yesterday so they were playing with confidence."
The Crimson Tide won the doubles point for the sixth time this season. Alabama's No. 2 tandem of Saketh Myneni and Andrew Felsenthal picked up the first win for the Tide over Alex Sundling and Ajay Ahluwalia, 8-3. With the win, the duo improves to 5-1 on the season. The Tide's top tandem of Daniel Buikema and Mathieu Thibaudeau defeated Victor Lamm and Khumpol Issara, 8-4, to clinch the point for the Tide. Buikema and Thibaudeau improve to 13-7 overall and a perfect 6-0 in dual match play.
Alabama's No. 3 tandem of Billy Mertz and Javier Bes made their debut in the doubles lineup, defeating Trevor Dobson and Stephen Stege, 8-6, to end doubles play.
In singles, the Tide came from behind in five out of six singles matches to win the match. Bes was the only Tide player to defeat his opponent in straight sets. He beat Issara, 6-2, 6-4, from the No. 4 position. Buikema clinched the match for the Tide at the No. 5 slot with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Stege.
Alabama travels to Malibu tomorrow to take on its first top 25 opponent of the season in No. 21 Pepperdine. The Waves are 1-3 overall after defeating Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 5-2 on Thursday.
The match between Alabama and Pepperdine will be held at the Ralph-Strauss Tennis Center in Malibu, Calif.
Complete results from the match can be found at www.rolltide.com.
No. 10 Alabama 6, Cal-Irvine 1
No. 1 #99 Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) d. Alex Sunding (UCI) 7-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 Victor Lamm (UCI) d. Saketh Myneni (UA) 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, ret.
No. 3 Sammy Struyf (UA) d. Trevor Dobson (UCI) 2-6, 7-6, 6-0
No. 4 Javier Bes (UA) d. Khunpol Issara (UCI) 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 Daniel Buikema (UA) d. Stephen Stege (UCI) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 Houssam Yassine (UA) d. Ryan Mayer (UCI) 6-7, 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 4,3,5*,1,6,2
No. 1 Buikema/Thibaudeau (UA) d. Lamm/Issara (UCI) 8-4
No. 2 Andrew Felsenthal/Myneni (UA) d. Sundling/Ajay Ahluwalia 8-3
No. 3 Bes/Billy Mertz (UA) d. Dobson/Stege (UCI) 8-6
Order of finish: 2,1,3
-UA-
