Alabama
Vanderbilt
No. 17 Men's Tennis Downs No. 49 Vanderbilt
3/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 29, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The 17th-ranked men's tennis team (17-3, 5-1 SEC) defeated the 49th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores (4-12, 0-6 SEC) 6-1 on Sunday at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium. The Crimson Tide swept all three doubles matches, and junior Saketh Myneni provided the clinching win at the No. 1 singles spot.
"It is great to get a win," said head coach Billy Pate. "We were sort of lethargic in doubles, and that carried over a little into singles, but each guy took care of his court. I am glad we got this win because it is certainly going to get tougher from here."
Alabama dominated all three doubles matches, allowing Vanderbilt to get no closer than 8-4 on any court. The match on court two was the first one completed, as the 49th-ranked duo of Myneni and senior Billy Mertz defeated sophomores Adam Baker and Bryant Salcedo 8-3. Mertz was broken to open the match, and the Vanderbilt pair held the break until 3-2, when Myneni and Mertz got the match back on serve. The Tide tandem seized momentum from there, not surrendering another game on their way to an 8-3 victory. The doubles point was clinched seconds later when Alabama took the match at the No. 1 spot. The No. 35 doubles team in the nation, seniors Mathieu Thibaudeau and Dan Buikema, took an early break advantage in their match against senior Nick Cromydas and sophomore Alex Zotov. The one break was all the Tide pair needed, but it didn't stop them from breaking once more, taking the match 8-4. The sweep was completed after a comfortable win by senior Andrew Felsenthal and freshman Ricky Doverspike on court three. The Alabama duo jumped ahead 3-0 early over freshman Charlie Jones and junior Vijay Paul, but the Vanderbilt pair would fight back to get the match back on serve. Felsenthal and Doverspike grabbed the momentum back in their favor quickly, building a 7-3 advantage. Felsenthal served for the match at 7-3, but was broken. However, the Tide would not let the Commodores hang around for long, breaking serve the next game to take the match 8-4.
Alabama continued its dominance in singles action, as five of the six first sets were won by a Tide player. Mertz took his opening set on court five 6-3 and cruised to win the second set 6-0, giving Alabama a 2-0 lead overall. Next off the court for the Tide was Doverspike, who defeated Zotov 6-3, 7-5 at the No. 6 position. Doverspike jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first, and Zotov put up little resistance in dropping the opening set. The Commodore sophomore did break Doverspike to take a 2-0 lead in the second set, but Doverspike got the match back on serve and broke again at 4-4 for an opportunity to serve for the match. Zotov was not finished though, as he fought to break Doverspike and even the set at 5-5. However, Zotov, who struggled to hold serve all day, once again dropped his serve. Doverspike took full advantage the next game, serving out the match easily. The match win was clinched for the Tide when Myneni came through with a straight sets win on court one over Salcedo. They traded breaks early in the first set, but it was Myneni who would come through with the break at 5-4 to take the opening set. From there, it was all Myneni, as Salcedo only managed to win one game in the second set, losing the match 6-4, 6-1.
The final three matches all went to a super tiebreak since the dual match had already been decided. The match on court four went to Buikema, who took down Baker 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (5). Baker served for the first set at 5-4, but couldn't take advantage and was broken. However, he managed to break Buikema again in the next game, this time serving out the first set. Buikema came out on fire in the second set, jumping out to a 3-0 lead and eventually taking the set 6-3. Buikema had all the momentum on his side, and he used that to earn an early 4-1 lead in the super tiebreak. Baker put up little fight the rest of the way, as Buikema eventually won the super tiebreak ten points to five. Vanderbilt recorded its only match win of the day on court two thanks to a three set win by Paul. Paul dropped the opening set 6-3 to Thibaudeau, but claimed an early break in the second set. That break would be all he needed, taking the second set 6-3. The super tiebreak was back and forth most of the way, but it was the Commodore junior who came up with the winning shots on the big points, taking the match 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (7). The last match of the day to end took place on court three, and it appeared as if it would be a straight sets victory for the Tide. Freshman Michael Thompson trailed 2-0 against Cromydas to start the match, but then rallied to take six of the next seven games to win the first set 6-3. Once again, Cromydas took a 2-0 lead to begin the second, but Thompson fought back to get on serve. The set remained on serve until 5-5, when Thompson broke, giving him a chance to serve out the match. Cromydas would not go down that easily however, breaking Thompson and sending the second set into a tiebreak. The tiebreak was not much of a contest, as Cromydas breezed by Thompson seven points to one. That sent the match into a decisive super tiebreak, with Cromydas seemingly having all the momentum. However, that was not the case, as Thompson collected his game, only surrendering one point to take the super tiebreak ten points to one.
"There was a good chance we could have had a letdown after the Kentucky match," Pate added. "We needed to come out with emotion. I am not sure we did that quite as well as we could have, but we still were able to get key points when we needed it. Today was a true team effort."
Next up, Alabama travels to Knoxville on Friday, April 3 to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. The match is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. (CST). This will be the second meeting between the two teams in three weeks, as Tennessee defeated the Tide 4-2 in Montgomery in the finals of the Blue Gray National Collegiate Classic.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Thibaudeau/Buikema (UA) def. Cromydas/Zotov (VU) 8-4
2. Myneni/Mertz (UA) def. Baker/Salcedo (VU) 8-3
3. Felsenthal/Doverspike (UA) def. Jones Paul (VU) 8-4
Order of Finish: 2,1,3
Singles
1. Saketh Myneni (UA) def. Bryant Salcedo (VU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Vijay Paul (VU) def. Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (7)
3. Michael Thompson (UA) def. Nick Cromydas (VU) 6-3, 6-7 (1), 1-0 (1)
4. Dan Buikema (UA) def. Adam Baker (VU) 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (5)
5. Billy Mertz (UA) def. Charlie Jones (VU) 6-3, 6-0
6. Ricky Doverspike (UA) def. Alex Zotov (VU) 6-3, 7-5
Order of Finish: 5,6,1*,4,2,3
Players Mentioned
