Alabama
Kentucky
Men's Tennis Splits Sunday Doubleheader
3/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama men's tennis team (11-7, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) split a pair of home matches on Sunday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. The Crimson Tide went toe-to-toe with conference foe Kentucky (11-3, 3-1 SEC) in the day's first match before falling to the Wildcats 4-3. Alabama responded with a 6-1 victory over the Citadel (8-17).
"Today was a grind physically, mentally and emotionally, and we are a much better team for it," said Alabama head coach George Husack. "It was a privilege and invaluable experience to be in such a close match with Kentucky. Our guys fought until the end. Yes, you want to have that big win, but we just have to keep knocking and the door will be answered."
The Tide jumped out to quick leads on courts one and three against the Wildcats in doubles. At the third spot, freshman Spencer Richey and Matthew Rossouw broke Gus Benson and Kevin Lai for a 2-1 lead and never looked back. The Alabama duo would win the final four games of the contest for a 6-2 victory.
The matchup at the top position would go back-and-forth, as the 42nd-ranked duo of sophomore Korey Lovett and freshman Mazen Osama raced out to a 4-1 lead against Nils Ellefsen and William Bushamuka. The Kentucky tandem got things back on serve at 4-3, but a missed volley at 15-40 gave Lovett and Osama a break advantage again. Ellefsen and Bushamuka broke to pull within 5-4 and held a 30-0 lead in the next game, but two missed volleys and a shanked overhead allowed the Tide pair to claim the match 6-4 and clinch the doubles point.
The Wildcats would respond by taking the first two singles matches completed. Trey Yates defeated sophomore Grayson Goldin 6-3, 6-1 at the fifth spot ahead of Ellefsen getting past senior Becker O'Shaughnessey 6-3, 6-3 on court three. The lead for the Wildcats did not last long thanks to Rossouw, who cruised past Austin Hussey after taking a tough first set 7-5, 6-0.
With the team score even at 2-2, 23rd-ranked Bushamuka gave the lead back to the Wildcats with a 6-3, 6-3 decision on court one against Osama, ranked 62nd in the nation. Osama fell behind 3-0 before getting on the board. He saved three break points while trailing 5-2, but Bushamuka served out the set in the next game. It appeared the Wildcat would run away with the second after breaking in the opening game, but Osama managed to fight back to 3-3, earning a break of serve after winning a deuce point while playing with a broken string. The momentum shift was short-lived however, as Bushamuka broke right back in the next game and closed out the match.
The final two matches would finish almost simultaneously. First, Richey managed to shake off dropping his opening set 7-5 on court four against Enzo Wallart to claim the second easily 6-1. He earned the crucial break in the fifth game of the final frame and consolidated the lead with an ace at deuce in the next game. Wallart stayed close, forcing the Alabama rookie to hold serve to close it out, which he did successfully.
"Spencer grew a bit older and wiser today as did his doubles partner Matthew," added Husack. "Both guys are gaining clarity with their games with each match. It's gratifying to see it unfold."
That turned the attention to court two, where 81st-ranked Lovett and Kentucky's 108th-ranked Ryotaro Matsumura were locked in a tight battle. Lovett won six of the match's first seven games en route to a 6-3 opening set, but Matsumura came back to take the second by the same score to force a third.
Matsumura earned the first break to move in front 2-1 and held for 3-1 by ripping a forehand passing shot down the line at deuce. Lovett held in the next game and got back even when Matsumura mishit a forehand on yet another deuce point. At 4-4, Lovett held thanks to a clutch serve-and-volley play at 40-30. He would hold a match point in the next game but netted a forehand at deuce to keep the match going. The Wildcat came through with a break at 5-5 to serve for the match at 6-5. However, Matsumura would begin cramping, going to underhand or off-speed serves. The game would fittingly be pushed to deuce, where a lengthy rally ended with Lovett just missing a forehand wide.
"I wouldn't want another guy in Korey's spot," stated Husack. "Last one on and he loves to relish the opportunity. I'm proud of his fight today against a very tough opponent."
In the nightcap, Alabama swept through doubles action against the Citadel. Redshirt freshman Langford Hills and Richey breezed past Connor Grady and Jackson Pride 6-1 on court three. Junior Hayes Brewer and O'Shaughnessey defeated Nicholas Bradley and Michael Anzalone 6-2 at the second position to clinch the point for the Tide. Court one would be played out, as Lovett and Rossouw took down Matthew Henson and Artemie Amari 6-3.
The Tide claimed all six first sets in singles action. O'Shaughnessey swept by Bradley 6-0, 6-0 at the top spot, while Brewer defeated Roy Hobson 6-2, 6-1 on court six. Goldin delivered the clinching victory with a 6-4, 6-0 win on court three over Henson.
The wins continued to roll in for Alabama with sophomore Danny Kerznerman coming through 6-1, 6-0 at the fourth position against Pride. Hills earned the sixth point for the Tide as he was victorious by a score of 6-2, 6-3 on court five over Michael Anzalone.
The Bulldogs picked up their lone win of the day in the last match. Artemie Amari lost the first set to Richey 6-3, but came back to take the second 7-5. The third would be shortened to a match tiebreak, where Amari outlasted Richey 11 points to nine.
"We finished strong tonight against the Citadel," said Husack. "It's not easy to come back after a long match but our guys stepped up and played well. Coach Kriese always has his players ready to go and I'm glad we could face a tough team to put closure on the day."
Alabama goes on the road for its next two matches, traveling to LSU for a match up on Friday, March 18 at 5:30 p.m. CT and Texas A&M for a context on Sunday, March 20 at noon CT.
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