Alabama
TCU
Men's Tennis Edges TCU, 4-3
2/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 11, 2011
FORTH WORTH, Texas - The 31st-ranked men's tennis team (4-1) picked up a 4-3 win against No. 52 TCU (2-2) on Friday at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. Junior Ricky Doverspike provided the clinching victory on court one giving the Crimson Tide its first road win of the season.
"We felt like this would be a 4-3 match going into it," Alabama head coach Billy Pate said. "TCU is a good team, and I think we will see this will be a great win later in the year. We are always confident when Ricky has a chance to close the match out, and he really locked in down the stretch today."
All three doubles matches were close with each win coming by three games or less. TCU got the early edge with an 8-5 decision at No. 3 as senior Zach Nichols and junior Daniel Sanchez defeated senior Trey Walston and junior Michael Thompson. Alabama's tandem on court two would even the count thanks to an 8-6 victory by sophomore Jarryd Botha and freshman Daniil Proskura over Horned Frog sophomore Soren Goritzka and senior Cameron Nash. The doubles point came down to the battle at No. 1 that was eventually won in an 8-6 decision by TCU seniors Emanuel Brighiu and Christopher Price, ranked No. 55 in the nation, over junior Vikram Reddy and Doverspike.
The Tide would earn three singles wins in a row kicked off by Botha's dominant 6-1, 6-2 showing over Goritzka at No. 2. Thompson followed that up with a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Nash on court five. Reddy moved to 2-0 at the No. 3 position with his win Friday over Nichols 6-4, 6-2.
From there, the Horned Frogs would even the match with back-to-back wins on courts six and four as freshman Carlos Taborga was narrowly edged by Sanchez 7-5, 6-4, which was followed by a 6-1, 6-3 loss for Proskura against Price.
The attention would turn to court one where Doverspike came through in the clutch to take down Brighiu 7-6(2), 6-4.
"It is early in the season, but I have been pleased with the play in the top half of our lineup," Pate added. "We need to improve in doubles, and we will look to do that tomorrow."
Alabama remains in the Lone Star State for its second match of the weekend when it heads to Dallas on Saturday to take on SMU. Opening serve is slated for noon CT.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 55 Brighiu/Price (TCU) def. Doverspike/Reddy (UA) 8-6
2. Botha/Proskura (UA) def. Goritzka/Nash (TCU) 8-6
3. Nichols/Sanchez (TCU) def. Thompson/Walston (UA) 8-5
Order of Finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. Ricky Doverspike (UA) def. Emanuel Brighiu (TCU) 7-6(2), 6-4
2. Jarryd Botha (UA) def. Soren Goritzka (TCU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Vikram Reddy (UA) def. Zach Nichols (TCU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Christopher Price (TCU) def. Daniil Proskura (UA) 6-1, 6-3
5. Michael Thompson (UA) def. Cameron Nash (TCU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Daniel Sanchez (TCU) def. Carlos Taborga (UA) 7-5, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,5,3,6,4,1*
Players Mentioned
