No. 19 Men's Tennis Hosts Tulane on Sunday
2/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 6, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The 19th-ranked men's tennis team (2-1) looks to continue its stellar play this weekend, hosting the Tulane Green Wave (2-1) on Sunday, Feb. 7 at 1:00 p.m. (CST). All action will take place at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium.
"Tulane will provide a good challenge this weekend," head coach Billy Pate said. "We're coming off a great weekend, so our goal is to maintain focus and build on the momentum we have. I'm so happy Tulane has restarted their tennis program after a brief hiatus as a result of the damage Hurricane Katrina had on the New Orleans community. The Tulane administration did a great job of raising money and putting things back in place during the recovery so we're excited to play them in their first year back. They have great deal of history and national tennis tradition, so I'm sure they're aiming to prove themselves again."
The Crimson Tide is coming off a very successful weekend as part of ITA Kick-Off Weekend, defeating two top-25 teams to qualify for the 2010 ITA National Indoor Championships. Saturday, Alabama swept No. 23 Arizona 4-0. The doubles point was clinched thanks to a seven-to-two points victory in the tiebreak by senior Saketh Myneni and sophomore Michael Davis. The Tide picked up three quick wins in singles to claim the match, with sophomore Ricky Doverspike clinching it with a 6-0, 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot. On Sunday, Alabama was forced to rally back after dropping the doubles point to No. 18 Duke. The Tide did just that, as three players took down ranked Blue Devils in straight sets. Two of the matches featured ranked players, with Alabama taking both. No. 123 sophomore Michael Thompson defeated No. 62 Dylan Arnould 6-4, 6-1, while No. 62 Myneni slipped by No. 17 Henrique Cunha 7-6 (2), 6-4. Myneni's win was the clincher, giving the Tide a 4-2 victory over Duke and helping him earn SEC Player of the Week.
Tulane is coming off a 4-3 win over Florida A&M at home on Friday. The win moved the Green Wave to 2-1 on the season. Tulane opened the season by sweeping Centenary, then dropped a tough 4-3 decision to Troy. Against the Trojans, the Green Wave took the doubles point and won two of the three singles matches that went to three sets, but also lost three matches in straight sets. Tulane has yet to drop the doubles point this season.
The Green Wave owns an 11-7 advantage in the all-time series with Alabama, but the two teams have not met since 1997.
The Tide will be back in action next weekend, traveling to Charlottesville, Va., to participate in the ITA National Indoor Championships Feb. 12-15. Alabama is seeded 15th in the tournament and will face the No. 2 seed, and host institution, Virginia in the opening round on Friday, Feb. 12 at 5:00 p.m. (CST). All action will be held at the Boar's Head Sports Club.
