Alabama
Tennessee
Men's Tennis Beats No. 19 Tennessee, 6-1
4/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 8, 2012
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The men's tennis team picked up a 6-1 win over 19th-ranked Tennessee on Sunday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. The win, which moves the Crimson Tide to 8-13 overall and 2-8 in the Southeastern Conference, was Alabama's first over the Volunteers, who drop to 13-11 on the season and 5-5 in the league, since 2006.
"This was a great win for our team and an important one," said Alabama head coach Billy Pate. "We went into this week with the focus of playing well, and the win over Memphis Wednesday helped us get over the hump. The way we competed against Georgia on Friday, despite a loss, carried positive momentum into today."
Alabama took the 1-0 lead following doubles as the Tide got wins on courts one and three. First to finish was the matchup on court three where Alabama senior Michael Thompson and freshman David Vieyra topped junior Taylor Patrick and freshman Brandon Fickey, 8-5. Tennessee evened the count with an 8-5 win of its own on court two as junior Edward Jones and sophomore Jarryd Chaplin beat senior Vikram Reddy and Carlos Taborga. The point would come down to the contest on court one, which went back and forth at the beginning before Tide senior Ricky Doverspike and junior Jarryd Botha picked up a pivotal break to lead 5-4 over the nation's eighth-ranked doubles team of freshmen Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese. From there, Doverspike and Botha would take three of the last four games for the 8-5 win to clinch the point.
The Vols would tie the match score at 1-1 as they were first to pick up a win in singles, getting a 6-3, 6-1 win on court two with 92nd-ranked Reese beating Botha. Thompson put the Tide back on top rather quickly as he dominated Swartz on court six with a 6-2, 6-0 win. Next to finish was the matchup on court three where Vieyra made quick work of Jones, winning 6-3, 6-2, to put Alabama within one of the overall victory. The Tide would clinch the match on the next point as sophomore Daniil Proskura fought off a late break from Fickey on court three only to break back and take the 6-2, 7-5 win. Doverspike gave Alabama a 5-1 lead with a win on court one as he fought back from a first-set loss to beat the nation's No. 42 player in Libietis, 5-7, 6-1, 1-0(7). In the closest match of the afternoon, Reddy would rally to win his match, which lasted over two hours, 7-6(6), 7-6(5) against Chaplin on court four.
"Ricky and Daniil have really picked it up in singles the last few matches, and it was just a matter of getting some confidence back," added Pate. "As always, doubles is crucial and Ricky and Jarryd earned a great win over a top team to help us secure the point. I really feel if this team believes in each other we can catch fire and put ourselves back in contention for an NCAA bid, but there's a lot of work to do. That starts with our preparation for Wednesday's matches in Birmingham."
Next up, Alabama will play a midweek doubleheader at UAB and Samford on Wednesday, April 11. The Tide will take on the Blazers at 1 p.m. CT before facing the Bulldogs at 6 p.m. CT.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Botha/Doverspike (UA) def. No. 8 Libietis/Reese (UT) 8-5
2. Chaplin/Jones (UT) def. Reddy/Taborga (UA) 8-5
3. Thompson/Vieyra (UA) def. Fickey/Patrick (UT) 8-5
Order of Finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. Ricky Doverspike (UA) def. No. 42 Mikelis Libietis (UT) 5-7, 6-1, 1-0(7)
2. No. 92 Hunter Reese (UT) def. Jarryd Botha (UA) 6-3, 6-1
3. Daniil Proskura (UA) def. Brandon Fickey (UT) 6-2, 7-5
4. Vikram Reddy (UA) def. Jarryd Chaplin (UT) 7-6(6), 7-6(5)
5. David Vieyra (UA) def. Edward Jones (UT) 6-3, 6-2
6. Michael Thompson (UA) def. Bryan Swartz (UT) 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: 2,6,5,3*,1,4
Players Mentioned
