Alabama
Troy
Men's Tennis Rolls Past Troy and No. 69 Furman
1/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 24, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The No. 23 men's tennis team (2-0) kicked off its 2009 spring season with a pair of wins against Troy (0-2) and No. 69 Furman (0-2). The Crimson Tide defeated the Trojans 6-1 and wrapped up the day with a 5-2 victory over Furman.
"The guys were anxious to get the season started and played well today," said head coach Billy Pate. "The Furman match turned out to be quite a dog fight. They are always a fantastic team especially in doubles. We had a good mix of older guys and younger guys pulling it out for us today. I was really impressed with Ricky (Doverspike) in the first match. It was good to see our freshmen getting wins. They have proven they're going to be impact players for us."
In the morning dual against Troy, Alabama got off to a commanding start earning the doubles point behind an 8-0 win by senior Billy Mertz and junior Saketh Myneni followed by an 8-3 victory by the No. 48 pair of seniors Dan Buikema and Mathieu Thibaudeau. Singles was just as impressive for the Tide winning five of six matches all in straight sets. Finishing first at the No. 3 position was Buikema, who earned a 6-1, 6-2 win over the Trojans' Benjamin Chomette. Shortly after, Myneni picked up the second singles win for Alabama defeating Troy's Aurelien Tave 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot. Sealing the team point for the Tide was freshman Ricky Doverspike at No. 4 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over the Trojans' Mario Silva. Also netting singles wins for Alabama was No. 69 Thibaudeau at the No. 1 position and senior Michael Jung in the No. 5 slot. Thibaudeau defeated Branko Weber 6-3, 6-3, while Jung had an easy time with Phil Janz winning 6-1, 6-2.
The Tide's two match losses to Troy were both decided in a tiebreak with senior Andrew Felsenthal and freshman Creighton Blanchard dropping a hard-fought match to Bastian Maucher and Tave 9-8(4). In singles, junior Houssam Yassine came back from a 6-1 loss to win the second set 7-6(5). In the tiebreak, the Trojans' Maucher came out on top 10-5 to win the match.
The afternoon contest against No. 69 Furman was intense from the very beginning with all three doubles matches remaining within a point of each other until the end. Buikema and Thibaudeau powered past the Paladins' Chris Motes and Andy Juc 8-6 at the No. 1 position. Furman's Jordan Walters and Bo Ladyman picked up the win at the No. 2 position against Doverspike and freshman Michael Thomson also by a score of 8-6. The doubles point was riding on the outcome of the No. 3 matchup pinning freshman John Lewis and Felsenthal against the Paladins' Andrei Chvetsov and Chris Rhyne. With all eyes on, the match came right down to the wire and was eventually sent into a tiebreak. In the end, Furman came out on top 9-8(5) to enter singles play with a 1-0 advantage.
The Paladins picked up their second point of the match after No. 104 Ladyman beat No. 69 Thibaudeau 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 2 singles position. Within five minutes of each other, Alabama earned wins at the No. 4, 3 and 1 spots to pull out in front 3-2. At No. 4, Thompson won a close 7-5 first set before cruising to a 6-3 win in the second. No. 115 Mertz pulled out the win by the same score as Thompson, only reversed, beating Daniel Knause in the No. 3 position 6-3, 7-5. At No. 1, Furman's Andy Juc looked to be well in control leading 5-2 in the first, but Myneni remained composed and came all the way back scoring five straight points to win the set 7-5. Myneni controlled all of set two leading 5-2. With the count at 40-15, Myneni delivered a perfectly placed ball in the backcourt that sailed past Juc giving the Tide another win and the overall advantage on the scoreboard. Alabama needed one more win to clinch the team victory, and that win was granted when Buikema downed the Paladins' Walters 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot. Lewis capped off the match with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win at the No. 6 spot over Chris Motes.
"The doubles point was close, but they ended up coming out on top," said Pate. "That put us in a little bit of a hole. Things were a little bit testy for a while, but we had some guys that really came up big. After Saketh won his first set the momentum really changed for us. Furman was a great test, and this is surely a match that will help us in the end."
Next up, the Tide travels to Malibu, Calif. to take on No. 17 Miami (Fla.) on Jan. 31. Match time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (CST).
RESULTS
Alabama 6, Troy 1
Doubles
1. No. 48 Buikema/Thibaudeau (UA) def. Weber/Silva (TU) 8-3
2. Mertz/Myneni (UA) def. Chomette/Janz (TU) 8-0
3. Maucher/Tave (TU) def. Felsenthal/Blanchard 9-8(4)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. No. 69 Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) def. Branko Weber (TU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Saketh Myneni (UA) def. Aurelien Tave (TU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Dan Buikema (UA) def. Benjamin Chomette (TU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Ricky Doverspike (UA) def. Maria Silva (TU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Michael Jung (UA) def. Phil Janz (TU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Bastian Maucher (TU) def. Houssam Yassine (UA) 6-1, 6-7(5), 1-0 (10-5)
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 4, 1, 5, 6
Alabama 5, Furman 2
Doubles
1. No. 48 Buikema/Thibaudeau (UA) def. Motes/Juc (FUR) 8-6
2. Walters/Ladyman (FUR) def. Thompson/Doverspike (UA) 8-6
3. Chvetsov/Rhyne (FUR) def. Lewis/Felsenthal (UA) 9-8(5)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. Saketh Myneni (UA) def. Andy Juc (FUR) 7-5, 6-2
2. No. 104 Bo Ladyman (FUR) def. No. 69 Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) 6-2, 6-1
3. No. 115 Billy Mertz (UA) def. Daniel Knause (FUR) 6-3, 7-5
4. Michael Thompson (UA) def. Philipp Fuelkell (FUR) 7-5, 6-3
5. Dan Buikema (UA) def. Jordan Walters (FUR) 6-4, 6-2
6. John Lewis (UA) Chris Motes (FUR) 7-6(5), 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 3, 1, 5, 6
Players Mentioned
