Alabama
Tennessee
Men's Tennis Falls 6-1 at Tennessee
3/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 4, 2011
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The 29th-ranked men's tennis team (7-3, 0-1 SEC) opened up Southeastern Conference play with a 6-1 loss at No. 2 Tennessee (11-1, 1-0 SEC) on Friday at Barksdale Stadium. Freshman Daniil Proskura provided the Crimson Tide's lone point as he topped Volunteer senior Matteo Fago, ranked No. 41 in the nation, in three sets.
"Tennessee was very good today, as expected," Alabama head coach Billy Pate said. "We fought hard and after getting down 3-0, we had a fleeting chance to come back in the remaining four matches. Daniil hung in there and was able to get a great win against a very good player."
Tennessee swept the three doubles matches with the point getting clinched on court two. First to finish was the matchup on court one where the nation's No. 1-ranked team in seniors Boris Conkic and John-Patrick Smith topped Alabama junior Ricky Doverspike and sophomore Jarryd Botha 8-2. Vol sophomores Tennys Sandgren and Rhyne Williams gave Tennessee the point on two with an 8-3 victory over juniors Vikram Reddy and Michael Thompson. On court three, Tide senior Trey Walston and Proskura led early taking the 2-0 lead, but Tennessee senior Matteo Fago and sophomore Ed Jones came back to take the match 8-5.
In singles, the Vols earned first-set wins on five of the six courts, but Alabama battled to make things close in several of the second sets. Tennessee took a 2-0 lead with a victory on court three as 35th-ranked Sandgren topped Reddy 6-1, 6-1. The Vols' Williams, ranked No. 3 in the nation, made it a 3-0 lead as he earned a 6-3, 6-2 win over Botha on court two. The team win would be clinched on court one, despite a solid effort for Doverspike in the second against No. 13 Smith. Smith took the first set 6-1, but Doverspike came back in the second leading 5-3. Smith evened the score at 5-5 and eventually sent the set into a tiebreaker. From there, it was all Smith as the Vol senior won 7-6(2) in the set.
The remaining matches on court were played out despite the team win already being decided. Next to wrap up was the matchup on court six where Jones posted a 6-2, 7-5 win over sophomore Ian Chadwell. Chadwell broke late in the second to even the score at 5-5, but Jones would take the next game to break back and serve for the win. On court five, Thompson won the first set 6-3 over No. 113 Conkic, but the Tennessee netter would come back to take the second set 6-4. In the super tiebreaker, it would be Conkic coming out on top 10-0, giving the Vols their sixth point of the match. The final match being played on court four lasted over two hours with the third set tiebreaker taking nearly 30 minutes. In the first set, Fago took the easy 6-2 lead, but from there Proskura converted on the big points to earn the win. In the second set, Proskura came back from a 5-3 deficit in the tiebreaker to win 7-6(6). In the third, he would again come back from being down by two, at 7-5, to win five of the final six points for the 10-8 victory.
"Ricky had two set points serving for the second set and Michael had a lead at the time in his match," Pate added. "The credit goes to Tennessee for being more mentally strong and playing better down the stretch."
Alabama remains on the road this weekend as it takes on No. 13 Georgia on Sunday, March 6. First serve is slated for Noon CT.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 1 Conkic/Smith (UT) def. Doverspike/Botha (UA) 8-2
2. Sandgren/Williams (UT) def. No. 62 Reddy/Thompson (UA) 8-3
3. Fago/Jones (UT) def. Proskura/Walston (UA) 8-5
Order of Finish: 1,2,3
Singles
1. No. 13 John-Patrick Smith (UT) def. Ricky Doverspike (UA) 6-1, 7-6(2)
2. No. 3 Rhyne Williams (UT) def. Jarryd Botha (UA) 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 35 Tenny Sandgren (UT) def. Vikram Reddy (UA) 6-1, 6-1
4. Daniil Proskura (UA) def. No. 41 Matteo Fago (UT) 2-6, 7-6(6), 10-8
5. No. 113 Boris Conkic (UT) def. Michael Thompson (UA) 3-6, 6-4, 10-0
6. Ed Jones (UT) def. Ian Chadwell (UA) 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 3,2,1*,6,5,4
Players Mentioned
