Alabama
Kentucky
Men's Tennis Falls at Kentucky, 5-2
3/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 19, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The 37th-ranked men's tennis team (8-6, 1-4 SEC) dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 14 Kentucky (16-5, 3-2 SEC) at the Boone Tennis Complex on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Tide took the early advantage after securing the doubles point for the second straight match, but the Wildcats came back to win five of the six singles matches for the team victory.
"It was, again, another match where we created opportunities for ourselves, but we could not convert," Alabama head coach Billy Pate said. "It is disappointing because we were very close to turning the corner."
Alabama came from behind to win the doubles point after Kentucky posted an 8-3 win on court three with junior Alex Musialek and sophomore Anthony Rossi topping Tide senior Trey Walston and freshman Daniil Proskura. On court one, Alabama junior Ricky Doverspike and sophomore Jarryd Botha knocked off the Wildcats' 48th-ranked team of senior Brad Cox and junior Eric Quigley 9-7, leaving the doubles point up to the winner of the battle on court two. With the match tied at 8-8, Tide juniors Vikram Reddy and Michael Thompson came up big in the tiebreaker taking down Kentucky senior Alberto Gonzalez and freshman Tom Jomby, ranked No. 41 in the nation, 7-2 to give Alabama the early lead.
In singles, the Wildcats tallied their first win on court one as fourth-ranked Quigley earned a 6-2, 6-3 win over Doverspike, which was followed by a 6-3, 7-5 decision for Jomby over Tide freshman Carlos Taborga on court six. Next to finish was the matchup on court four where No. 117 Gonzalez topped Reddy, 6-4, 6-3. Kentucky would clinch the win on court two with 47th-ranked Musialek edging Botha, 7-6, 7-5 for the victory. From there, No. 77 Rossi would also post a 7-6, 7-5 win, advancing past Thompson on court five. The final decision on court three would go in favor of the Tide with No. 115 Proskura beating Cox 7-6, 7-6.
Next up, Alabama will head host Vanderbilt on Sunday, March 27. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. CT.
"It was good to see us battle back and take the doubles point, but without winning some close first sets in singles, it did not have the bearing it should have had on the final outcome," Pate added. "We will get back to work this week and be ready for a very good Vanderbilt team at home next week."
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Doverspike/Botha (UA) def. No. 48 Quigley/Cox (UK) 9-7
2. Thompson/Reddy (UA) def. No. 41 Gonzalez/Jomby (UK) 9-8(2)
3. Musialek/Rossi (UK) def. Proskura/Walston (UA) 8-3
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1. No. 4 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Ricky Doverspike (UA) 6-2, 6-3
2. No. 47 Alex Musialek (UK) def. No. 111 Jarryd Botha (UA) 7-6, 7-5
3. No. 115 Daniil Proskura (UA) def. Brad Cox (UK) 7-6, 7-6
4. No. 117 Alberto Gonzalez (UK) def. Vikram Reddy (UA) 6-4, 6-3
5. No. 77 Anthony Rossi (UK) def. Michael Thompson (UA) 7-6, 7-5
6. Tom Jomby (UK) def. Carlos Taborga (UA) 6-3, 7-5
Order of Finish: 1,6,4,2*,5,3
Players Mentioned
