Alabama
Virginia Tech
Alabama Men’s Tennis Concludes First Day of Blue Gray National Tennis Classic
2/24/2017 6:27:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Crimson Tide set to continue singles play against Boise State on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis team lost a 4-2 decision to the Virginia Tech Hokies in the first round of the 69th annual Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. The Crimson Tide (5-5) went on to win the doubles point against Boise State in the second round, and the two will continue singles play on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT at the O'Connor Tennis Center.
The Hokies displayed a strong performance in doubles play, as Abraham Asaba and Jai Corbett topped freshman Alexey Nesterov and sophomore Mazen Osama in a 6-1 decision on court one. Virginia Tech's Mitch Harper and Alexandre Ribeiro went on to defeat freshman Edson Ortiz and sophomore Spencer Richey, 6-4, on court two to take a 1-0 match advantage headed into singles play.
Harper won in straight sets over Ortiz (No. 3), 6-3, 6-2, to begin singles play, giving Virginia Tech a 2-0 match lead. Alabama's No. 62 nationally-ranked singles player Osama (No. 1) defeated the Hokies' No. 49 ranked singles player Jai Corbett in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, to trim Virginia Tech's match lead to 2-1. Virginia Tech's Jason Kros claimed a win in straight sets over freshman Zhe Zhou (No. 5), 6-4, 6-2, to give the Hokies a 3-1 match lead. Richey (No. 4) topped Virginia Tech's No. 97 ranked singles player Henrik Korsgaard in a three set thriller, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, before Ribeiro defeated freshman Thibault Cancel in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, resulting in the final match score
Alabama executed the doubles point brilliantly against Boise State to take a 1-0 lead going in to singles play on Saturday morning. Richey and Ortiz teamed up to defeat Pedro Platzeck and Greg Wischer in a 6-3 decision on court two, before Harvey Shackleton and Brian Tran replied with a 7-6(7) win on court three against Cancel and Zhou. With the doubles point on the line, Osama and Nesterov partnered up to top Kyle Butters and Jack Heslin in a 7-6(2) thriller on court one to give Alabama a 1-0 match lead headed in to singles play on Saturday morning.
No. 50 Alabama 2, Virginia Tech 4
SINGLES:
1. No. 62 Mazen Osama (Alabama) def. No. 49 Jai Corbett (Virginia Tech) 6-3, 7-5
2. Alexandre Rieiro (Virginia Tech) def. Thibault Cancel (Alabama) 6-3, 7-6
3. Mitch Harper (Virginia Tech) def. Edson Ortiz (Alabama) 6-3, 6-2
4. Spencer Richey (Alabama) def. No. 97 Henrik Korsgaard (Virginia Tech) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
5. Jason Kros (Virginia Tech) def. Zhe Zhou (Alabama) 6-4, 6-2
6. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) vs. Freddy Mesmer (Virginia Tech) 4-3, DNF
Order of finish: 3,1,5,4,2
DOUBLES:
1. Abraham Asaba/Jai Corbett (Virginia Tech) def. Mazen Osama/Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) 6-1
2. Mitch Harper/Alexandre Ribeiro (Virginia Tech) def. Edson Ortiz/Spencer Richey (Alabama) 6-4
3. Thibault Cancel/Zhe Zhou (Alabama) vs. Henrik Korsgaard/Jason Kros (Virginia Tech) 5-6, DNF
Order of finish: 1,2
No. 50 Alabama 1, Boise State 0
DOUBLES:
1. Mazen Osama/Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) def. Kyle Butters/Jack Heslin (Boise State) 7-6(2)
2. Spencer Richey/Edson Ortiz (Alabama) def. Pedro Platzeck/Greg Wischer (Boise State) 6-3
3. Harvey Shackleton/Brian Tran (Boise State) def. Thibault Cancel/Zhe Zhou (Alabama) 7-6(7)
Order of finish: 2,3,1
Get all the latest information on the team by following AlabamaMTN on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
