Alabama
University of Washington
Alabama Men’s Tennis Falls to Washington, 4-2, in ITA Kick-Off Weekend Event
1/27/2017 12:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Crimson Tide will take on the loser between fifth-ranked Georgia and Purdue tomorrow at 4 p.m. CT
ATHENS, Ga. – The Alabama men's tennis team lost a 4-2 decision to the Washington Huskies in the opening match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend event at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts on the campus of Georgia in Athens, Ga. The Crimson Tide (2-2) will take on the loser between the fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs and Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 4 p.m. CT.
"Very competitive match from start to finish," said head coach George Husack. "There were plenty of opportunities for either team to grab. Doubles came down to the wire and so did singles. We are getting stronger and improving with these moments. Lots of positives to take away and we will be ready again tomorrow."
Alabama's 32nd-ranked duo in sophomores Mazen Osama and Spencer Richey topped Piers Foley and Wendell Watanabe, 6-2, to tally the Tide's first doubles win of the contest. Senior Ritchie Kruunenberg and freshman Alexey Nesterov teamed up to clinch the doubles point to give Alabama 1-0 match lead going into singles play, as the pair outlasted Kawika Lam and Enzo Summer in 7-6 decision.
Washington responded in singles play, as the Huskies won back-to-back matches on courts one and two to take a 2-1 match advantage. Alabama's 78th-ranked singles player in freshman Thibault Cancel (No. 2) fell in straight sets to Enzo Summer, 6-4, 6-3, before the Tide's 63rd-ranked singles player in Osama (No. 1) lost to Washington's 60th-ranked singles player Mitch Stewart in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6. The Huskies went on to extend the match lead to 3-1, as Gal Halak defeated Richey (No. 3) in a three-set thriller, 6-2, 0-6, 7-6. The Tide replied with a win on court four to trim the Huskies' lead to 3-2, as Nesterov (No. 4) topped Jake Douglas in a 7-5, 7-6 decision. Foley clinched the 4-2 match victory for the Huskies, as he overcame sophomore Langford Hills (No. 5) in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
Alabama 2, Washington 4
SINGLES:
1. No. 60 Mitch Stewart (Washington) def. No. 63 Mazen Osama (Alabama) 6-3, 7-6
2. Enzo Summer (Washington) def. No. 78 Thibault Cancel (Alabama) 6-4, 6-3
3. Gal Halak (Washington) def. Spencer Richey (Alabama) 6-2, 0-6, 7-6
4. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) def. Jake Douglas (Washington) 7-5, 7-6
5. Edson Ortiz (Alabama) vs. Joao Barra (Washington) 7-5, 3-1 DNF
6. Amit Batta (Washington) def. Langford Hills (Alabama) 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3, 4, 5
DOUBLES:
1. No. 32 Mazen Osama/Spencer Richey (Alabama) def. Piers Foley/Wendell Watanabe (Washington) 6-2
2. Ritchie Kruunenberg/Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) def. Kawika Lam/Enzo Summer (Washington) 7-6
3. Thibault Cancel/Edson Ortiz (Alabama) vs. Amit Batta/Jake Douglas (Washington) 6-6 DNF
Order of finish: 1, 2
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