Men's Tennis Hosts Auburn in Regular-Season Finale
4/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 16, 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The No. 29 men's tennis team (13-11, 4-6 SEC) will close out its regular season Saturday hosting No. 39 Auburn (8-11, 4-6 SEC). First serve is at 5:00 p.m. (CST) at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium. Seniors Saketh Myneni and Houssam Yassine will be honored before the match as part of Senior Day.
On Wednesday, the Crimson Tide picked up a pair of wins knocking off UAB 5-2 and Samford 6-1. The Blazers took advantage of Alabama's slow start in doubles to win the doubles point, but the Tide rebounded to take five of the six singles matches for the victory. Sophomore Michael Davis provided the clinching win at the No. 6 position. In its evening match against the Bulldogs, the Tide once again was not up to par in doubles, losing two of three matches to drop the point. Alabama responded well in singles action, sweeping all six matches for the 6-1 win. It was freshman Jarryd Botha delivering the clincher this time at the No. 3 spot. Myneni, ranked 28th nationally in singles, collected two more wins on the day to move his winning streak to eight consecutive match wins.
Auburn was riding a four-match winning streak heading into last weekend, but dropped a pair of road conference matches to snap that streak. The two losses moved the Tigers to 5-11 against ranked foes this season. Auburn also saw its record away from home drop to 2-9 on the season, as it has not collected a road victory since defeating South Carolina 4-3 on March 14. The Tigers are led by junior Tim Puetz in the rankings, currently No. 21 in the nation in singles. Sophomore Alex Stamchev also made an appearance in the latest poll, checking in at No. 109. Puetz and Stamchev have been a successful doubles pair this season, as the duo is ranked No. 17 nationally. The Tide owns a 55-29-1 advantage over Auburn in the all-time series, including taking the last six meetings.
Next up, Alabama will head to Lexington, Ky., for the 2010 SEC Men's Tennis Championships. Opening round action will get underway on Thursday, April 22.
Players Mentioned
