Alabama
Boise State University
Alabama Men’s Tennis Finishes Play at Blue Gray National Tennis Classic
2/25/2017 9:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Crimson Tide Hosts Ole Miss on Friday, March 3, at 6 p.m. CT to open Southeastern Conference play
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis team finished play at the 69th annual Blue Gray National Tennis Classic on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Tide (6-6) defeated Boise State, 4-1, before going on to fall to Texas Tech in a 4-1 decision. Alabama posted a 1-2 mark during the two-day event.
"Good finish this morning against Boise State," said head coach George Husack. "We needed to bounce back after letting Virginia Tech slip away. And finally we needed to finish strong against Texas Tech. We competed our tails off, and it was a good battle. While we didn't get the result we wanted, we performed the best of the weekend tonight. Blue Gray has prepared us for conference and we are excited to kick off the SEC portion of our schedule at home on Friday."
The doubles point of the contest against Boise State was decided on Friday evening, and the Tide clinched the doubles point with wins on courts one and two to earn a 1-0 match advantage headed into singles play.
Alabama displayed a strong performance in singles play, as freshman Alexey Nesterov (No. 6) picked up a win in straight sets against Greg Wischer, 6-2, 6-0, giving the Tide an early 2-0 match lead. Boise State replied with its lone singles victory of the contest, as Brian Tran defeated freshman Thibault Cancel (No. 2) in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, to trim Alabama's match lead to 2-1. Freshman Edson Ortiz (No. 3) went on to overcome Jack Heslin in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, to stretch the Tide's match lead to 3-1. Alabama's No. 62 ranked singles player Mazen Osama (No. 1) clinched the Tide's 4-1 match victory, as he outlasted Kyle Butters in a match that was decided in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
The Tide lost the doubles point in the second match of the day against Texas Tech. Ortiz and Nesterov lost a 6-1 decision to Carlos DiLaura and Jolan Cailleau on court two, before Osama and sophomore Spencer Richey fell short to Connor Curry and Bjorn Thomson in a 6-2 decision on court one, giving the Red Raiders a 1-0 match lead going into singles play.
The Red Raiders continued to execute in singles play, as Curry defeated Cancel (No. 2) in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4, to take a 2-0 match lead. The Tide's lone singles win came from the No. 6 position, as Nesterov overcame Jackson Cobb in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, to cut Texas Tech's lead to 2-1. Richey (No. 4) lost a 6-4, 6-3, decision to Alex Sendegya, before Thomson topped Ortiz (No. 3) in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2, to clinch the 4-1 Texas Tech match victory.
The Tide will be back in action on Friday, March 3, when it hosts Ole Miss at the Alabama Tennis Stadium at 6 p.m. CT to officially open the Southeastern Conference portion of this year's schedule.
No. 50 Alabama 4, Boise State 1
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: 2,1
SINGLES
1. No 62 Mazen Osama (Alabama) def. Kyle Butters (Boise State) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
2. Brian Tran (Boise State) Thibault Cancel (Alabama) 6-1, 6-4
3. Edson Ortiz (Alabama) def. Jack Heslin (Boise State) 6-3, 6-2
4. Spencer Richey (Alabama) vs. Pedro Platzeck (Boise State) 7-5, 0-1 DNF
5. Zhe Zhou (Alabama) vs. Morgan Stone (Boise State) 4-6, 0-1 DNF
6. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) def. Greg Wischer (Boise State) 6-2, 6-0
Order of finish: 6,2,3,1
No. 50 Alabama 1, Texas Tech 4
DOUBLES
1. Connor Curry/Bjorn Thomson (Texas Tech) def. Spencer Richey/Mazen Osama (Alabama) 6-2
2. Carlos DiLaura/Jolan Cailleau (Texas Tech) def. Edson Ortiz/Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) 6-1
3. Hayes Brewer/Ritchie Kruunenberg (Alabama) vs. Jackson Cobb/Alex Sendegeya (Texas Tech) 5-4 DNF
Order of finish: 2,1
SINGLES
1. No. 62 Mazen Osama (Alabama) vs. No. 54 Jolan Cailleau (Texas Tech) 6-1, 6-6 DNF
2. Connor Curry (Texas Tech) def. Thibault Cancel (Alabama) 6-0, 6-4
3. Bjorn Thomson (Texas Tech) def. Edson Ortiz (Alabama) 7-6, 6-2
4. Alex Sendegeya (Texas Tech) def. Spencer Richey (Alabama) 6-4, 6-3
5. Zhe Zhou (Alabama) vs. Carlos DiLaura (Texas Tech) 7-5, 5-2 DNF
6. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) def. Jackson Cobb (Texas Tech) 6-4, 6-1
Order finish: 2,6,4,3
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Players Mentioned
