No. 15 Men's Tennis Faces Tough Road Weekend
4/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 2, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The 15th-ranked men's tennis team (17-3, 5-1) hits the road this weekend for two SEC matches against top five teams, playing in Knoxville against No. 4 Tennessee (16-3, 5-1) on Friday, April 3 and in Athens against No. 3 Georgia (16-2, 5-1) on Sunday, April 5. The match with the Volunteers will begin at 3:00 p.m. (CST) and will take place at the Tennessee Varsity Tennis Courts, while the match with the Bulldogs will begin at 1:00 p.m. (CST) and will be held at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
"Certainly it is a challenging weekend, but it also presents a great opportunity for us," said head coach Billy Pate. "The guys are embracing the challenge and look forward to great matches against two of the nation's elite programs."
Alabama picked up two more conference victories last weekend, defeating 13th-ranked Kentucky 4-3 in Lexington before earning a 6-1 victory over then No. 49 Vanderbilt. The win over Vanderbilt gave the Crimson Tide ten victories over ranked teams this season. The successful weekend moved Alabama up two spots in the latest national poll, coming in at No. 15, which is the highest ranking of the season for the Tide. Junior Saketh Myneni has continued his stellar play this season for Alabama, earning a ranking of No. 34 nationally in the latest poll. Senior Mathieu Thibaudeau also remains in the national rankings this week, checking in at No. 87. In addition, the Tide has three doubles pairs ranked nationally. Thibaudeau and freshman Ricky Doverspike are currently ranked No. 35, although they haven't seen significant action together since the fall season. Thibaudeau and fellow senior Dan Buikema, Alabama's No. 1 doubles duo, come in at No. 41 this week. Senior Billy Mertz and Myneni, who play No. 2 doubles for the Tide, are ranked 60th in the latest poll.
Tennessee has dominated the series with Alabama, owning a 33-11 record. The Tide last defeated the Vols in 2006. Tennessee has not lost a match since March 8 when they suffered a 6-1 loss in Oxford to No. 2 Ole Miss. The winning streak for the Vols includes four wins at the Blue Gray Intercollegiate Tennis Classic, where Tennessee eventually defeated Alabama 4-2 in the championship match. Along with the loss to Ole Miss, the Vols also dropped a match to the top ranked Virginia Cavaliers in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The other loss came at the hands of Kentucky, who is currently ranked No. 13 nationally. Tennessee has two singles players ranked in the top 50 in this week's poll, led by sophomore John-Patrick Smith, who is currently No. 9. Boris Conkic, another sophomore for the Vols, checks in at No. 33 in the rankings. Tennessee has one doubles pair ranked nationally, as Smith and junior Davey Sandgren are currently No. 7.
Georgia owns a 48-8 record over Alabama, and has not lost to the Tide since 2003. The lone conference loss for the Bulldogs came in Oxford on March 6 when they lost a tough 4-3 match to Ole Miss. The only other loss this season for Georgia was a 4-1 decision to top ranked Virginia in the championship match of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Bulldogs have collected an impressive fourteen victories over ranked opponents this season. Georgia has three singles players ranked inside the top 80 nationally, starting with junior Nate Schnugg, who is currently No. 10. Sophomore Javier Garrapiz checks in at No. 66 this week, while junior Jamie Hunt is No. 72. Schnugg and Hung also have had a very successful season together in doubles action, currently sitting at No. 9 nationally.
Live scoring will be available for both matches this weekend. For live scoring of the Tennessee match, please . For live scoring of the Georgia match, please click here.
Players Mentioned
