Alabama
Virginia Tech
Alabama Men’s Tennis Travels to Participate in 2017 Blue Gray National Tennis Classic
2/23/2017 10:47:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Tide set to take on Virginia Tech on Friday at 9 a.m. CT at Lagoon Park Tennis Center
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis team (5-4) is set to compete in the 2017 Blue Gray National Tennis Classic in Montgomery, Ala., at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center and the O'Connor Tennis Center on Feb. 24-25. The Crimson Tide will open play against Virginia Tech on Friday at 9 a.m. CT at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center.
In last year's two-day event, Alabama fell short against No. 9 Oklahoma State, 4-0, before going on to defeat No. 52 Princeton in a 4-1 decision.
Last time out, the Tide traveled to the state of Oklahoma for a pair of road matches, where it lost a 7-0 decision to No. 12 Oklahoma State, before falling short to No. 14 Oklahoma, 5-2.
The Tide has an overall 19-27 singles record in dual match play, and it has a 12-10 mark in doubles play since beginning the spring season. Freshman Edson Ortiz leads the team with the most singles wins since beginning dual match play with a 6-2 mark. Ortiz is 1-1 and 5-1 from the No. 4 and No. 5 singles positions, respectively. Freshman Thibault Cancel is second on the team in singles wins since beginning the season, as he has collected a 5-3 mark including a 0-1 and 5-2 record from the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots, respectively. Sophomores Mazen Osama and Spencer Richey lead the Tide for the most doubles wins so far this season, as the duo has a 5-3 record with all matches coming from the No. 1 doubles position.
Virginia Tech enters Friday's match with an overall 3-3 record, and last weekend the Hokies blanked College of Charleston in a 7-0 decision. Virginia Tech has two players that are nationally-ranked in singles play, as Jai Corbett and Henrik Korsgaard enter Friday's contest at No. 49 and No. 97, respectively.
When Alabama and Virginia Tech face each other on Friday it will mark the fifth time the two programs have met, as the Hokies hold a 3-1 series advantage. The Tide opened the season last year against Virginia Tech, but it dropped a 5-2 decision. Alabama's lone victory over the Hokies came in the 1963 season, when the Tide blanked Virginia Tech, 9-0.
The other teams in this year's field include No. 16 South Carolina, No. 46 Rice, Texas Tech, Auburn, Princeton and Boise State.
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Players Mentioned
