Alabama
Indoor Qualifying
Men's Tennis Falls Short Against Pepperdine 4-3
2/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 1, 2009
MALIBU, Calif. - In its closest match of the season, the 24th-ranked men's tennis team dropped a heartbreaker to No. 23 Pepperdine 4-3 Sunday at the Ralphs-Strauss Tennis Center. With the loss, the Crimson Tide dips to 3-1 on the season, while the Waves improve to 5-2 overall and advance to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championships.
"It's a disappointing loss, but I'm proud of the way our team fought and competed," said head coach Billy Pate. We had plenty of chances and just didn't quite get it done. Pepperdine played a great match, and I give them a lot of credit. We're going to have a lot of these nail-biting matches this spring, so we'll learn from this and I expect this experience to benefit us next time."
The Waves got out to a quick 1-0 edge after claiming the doubles point. At No. 1 the 48th-ranked pair of Dan Buikema and Mathieu Thibaudeau faced off against the No. 45 team in Omar Altman and Bassam Beidas where the Pepperdine duo came out on top 8-3. Senior Billy Mertz and junior Saketh Myneni tied it up defeating the Waves team of Stuart Keplar and Alex Moreno 8-5 at the No. 2 position. Pepperdine earned the doubles point in a down-to-the-wire finish at the No. 3 spot where Hugh Clarke and Alex Llompart edged freshmen Michael Thompson and Ricky Doverspike 9-8(1).
The Waves looked like they were in control winning at both the No. 2 and No. 3 singles positions by scores of 6-2, 6-2, but Alabama responded. At the No. 1 spot, Myneni topped No. 51 Omar Altmann 6-3, 6-4 giving the Tide its first point of the match. Michael Thompson picked up a huge win at the No. 4 position defeating 57th-ranked Mahmoud Kamel 7-5, 6-4. With the win in reach, all eyes turned to the last two courts with both pairs splitting the first two sets. At No. 6, Michael Jung played a solid third set to defeat Pepperdine's Hugh Clarke 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 tying the overall match at 3-3. Just as Jung and Clarke finished up, the Waves' Alex Moreno and Buikema were halfway through their final set with the score standing at three games all. Moreno would win the final three games to take the match 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 and award the team win to Pepperdine.
Next up, Alabama hosts a doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 8 when it takes on a pair of instate rivals in Samford and UAB. The Tide and Bulldogs will battle it out at Noon (CST) followed by the Tide and Blazers at 5:00 p.m. (CST).
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 45 Bassam Beidas/Omar Altmann (PEP) def. No. 48 Dan Buikema/Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) 8-3
2. Saketh Myneni/Billy Mertz (UA) def. Alex Moreno/Stuart Keplar (PEP) 8-5
3. Hugh Clarke/Alex Llompart (PEP) def. Michael Thompson/Ricky Doverspike (UA) 9-8 (7-1)
Order of Finish: 1,2,3
Singles
1. Saketh Myneni (UA) def. No. 51 Omar Altmann (PEP) 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 122 Bassam Beidas (PEP) def. No. 69 Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) 6-2, 6-2
3. Alex Llompart (PEP) def. Billy Mertz (UA) 6-2, 6-2
4. Michael Thompson (UA) def. No. 57 Mahmoud Kamel (PEP) 7-5, 6-4
5. Alex Moreno (PEP) def. Dan Buikema (UA) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
6. Michael Jung (UA) def. Hugh Clarke (PEP) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3,2,1,4,6,5
Players Mentioned
