Men?s Tennis Downs MSU 4-0
3/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. ?? The 21st ranked Alabama men's team defeated No. 49 Mississippi State 4-0 today at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Stadium. With the win the Tide improves to 11-3 and 3-0 in the SEC while Mississippi State falls to 4-5 and 0-3 in the conference. Due to weather conditions, the match was played in reverse order with singles competition first.
"I'm extremely proud of our team today," said Alabama head coach Billy Pate. "They showed us a lot in terms of battling through miserable conditions. We asked them to embrace the adverse weather and just be the team with the most fight and mental resolve."
The Crimson Tide controlled the match at all six singles positions and ended the match after an hour and a half with victories at nos. two, three, four and five.
Alabama's Sammy Struyf was the first Tide player to get a win. Struyf defeated Chris Doerr 6-2, 6-2, to pick up the first point of the match. Mat Thibaudeau earned the second point for the Tide from the No. 2 spot. He defeated the 32nd ranked Philippe Frayssinoux 6-3, 6-4.
Javier Bes picked up the third win for the Tide at No. 5 by beating Antonio Lastre 6-3, 6-3. Daniel Buikema clinched the match for Alabama from the No. 4 position. He outlasted Ryan Farlow in the second set tiebreaker 8-6 to defeat his opponent 6-4, 7-6.
"We were also very fortunate to get the match in before the rain," said Pate. "We now have to shift our focus to Ole Miss which is a team that is competitive for the national title."
The Tide is back in action Sunday as it takes on the fifth ranked Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, Miss. The match is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and live statistics are available at www.rolltide.com.
#21 Alabama 4, #49 MSU 0
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Starkville, Miss.
Singles:
1. #95 Saketh Myneni (UA) vs. #26 Ivan Bjelica 6-2, 4-6, susp.
2. Mat Thibaudeau (UA) d. #32 Philippe Frayssinoux (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Sammy Struyf (UA) d. Chris Doerr (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Daniel Buikema (UA) d. Ryan Farlow (MSU) 6-4, 7-6(6)
5. Javier Bes (UA) d. Antonio Lastre (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Michael Jung (UA) vs. Tanner Stump 6-4, 2-5, susp.
Order of finish: 3,2,5,4
Doubles:
1. #45 Thibaudeau/Buikema (UA) vs. Bjelica/Frayssinoux (MSU)
2. Myneni/Jung (UA) vs. Farlow/Pjotrs Necajevs (MSU)
3. Struyf/Bes (UA) vs. Doerr/Stump (MSU)
Order of finish: did not play
