Saketh Myneni Earns SEC Player of the Week Nod
4/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 7, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Men's tennis senior Saketh Myneni was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week on Wednesday for his performances against No. 46 LSU and No. 50 Arkansas. Not only did he win all four of his matches, but he also provided the clinching victories from the No. 1 singles position over his nationally-ranked opponents. Myneni is earning his second SEC Player of the Week award of the season as he was first honored on Feb. 3.
Myneni, and doubles partner sophomore Michael Davis, opened the weekend up with a 9-7 win over LSU sophomore Neal Skupski and junior Sebastian Carlsson on court one. The Crimson Tide duo picked up a pivotal break to pull in front 8-7 and served out the match for the win. Myneni, ranked No. 31, then clawed his way back in singles after a 7-5 loss in the first set to 34th-ranked Skupski. The Alabama netter outlasted Skupski 7-6(4), 6-4 in the final two sets giving the Tide the 4-3 victory.
On Sunday against Arkansas, No. 64 Myneni and Davis secured the doubles point for Alabama in dramatic fashion over the Razorback pair of junior Chris Nott and senior Dmitry Lebedev, who are ranked 68th in the nation. Nott and Lebedev led 6-3 before Myneni and Davis took complete control not allowing the Arkansas duo to win another game in the match as the Tide tandem came out on top 8-6. Myneni then dominated No. 60 Nott in singles picking up a 6-3, 6-3 victory to clinch his second team win of the weekend.
No. 28 Alabama returns to the court Friday, April 9 when it heads to Starkville, Miss., to take on No. 55 Mississippi State. Opening serve is slated for 3:00 p.m. (CST). The Tide will play its final home match of the season on Saturday, April 17 when it hosts No. 37 Auburn at 5:00 p.m. (CST).
Players Mentioned
