Alabama
Louisiana State University
Alabama Men’s Tennis Team Collects Pair of Victories on Sunday Afternoon
3/19/2017 9:14:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Crimson Tide travels to Athens, Ga., to take on Georgia on Saturday, March 25, at 4 p.m. CT
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis team topped the LSU Tigers, 6-1, and the Troy Trojans in a 4-1 decision on Sunday afternoon at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. With the pair of wins, the Crimson Tide improves to an 8-11 overall record and 1-5 in Southeastern Conference play. The Tide tallied eight singles wins and four doubles victories on the day.
"Don't watch the clock, do what it does and keep going," said head coach George Husack. "That was the quote for the weekend. And the guys definitely kept going today. It was a long one with a tasty carrot at the end. They have taken a few learning lumps this season but they haven't lost their spirit. I am very proud of their grit and we will get back to work after a well deserved day off."
Freshmen Alexey Nesterov and Thibault Cancel claimed a 6-3 victory on court two over Gabor Csonka and Julian Saborio to begin doubles play against LSU. Alabama's No. 66 ranked doubles tandem in sophomores Mazen Osama and Spencer Richey clinched the doubles point to give the Tide a 1-0 match lead headed into singles, as the pair defeated Jordan Daigle and Justin Butsch in a 6-4 decision on court one.
Alabama continued to get strong performances from its freshmen, as Zhe Zhou (No. 6) topped Eric Samuelsson in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, before Edson Ortiz (No. 3) won in straight sets over Rafael Wagner, 7-6, 6-1, extending the Tide's match lead to 3-0. Alabama's No. 41 ranked singles player Osama clinched the Tide match victory, as he outlasted LSU's No. 47 ranked singles player Daigle in a three set thriller, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Both teams agreed to play out the contest after the clinch, as the Tide went on to win two more singles matches. LSU's Nikola Samardzic overcame Richey (No. 5), 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, before Nesterov (No. 4) claimed a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Csonka. The Tide's No. 103 ranked singles player in Cancel upset the Tigers' No. 43 ranked singles player Butsch in a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 decision resulting in the final match score.
Zhou and Ortiz defeated Jaiqi Duan and Andy Lau in a 6-3 decision on court three to begin doubles play against Troy. The Trojans responded, as Hassan Ndayishimy and Pablo Moreno topped Cancel and Nesterov, 6-3, on court two. With the doubles point on the line, senior Ritchie Kruunenberg and Richey topped Andre Baldo and Mustapha Belcora in a 7-6 thriller to give Alabama a 1-0 match advantage headed into singles play.
Alabama's No. 103 ranked singles player Cancel (No. 1) won in straight sets over Ndayishimye, 6-2, 6-1, to lengthen the Tide's match lead to 2-0. Duan topped sophomore Langford Hills in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2, cutting Alabama's match lead to 2-1. Zhou (No. 5) claimed his second singles win of the day in straight sets, as he topped Belcora, 6-2, 7-5, to give the Tide a 3-1 match advantage. Richey (No. 4) clinched the Alabama match victory, as he won in straight sets over Amer Bedwan, 6-4, 7-6, resulting in the final match score.
The Tide will be back in action on Saturday, March 25, when it travels to Athens, Ga., to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in a match that is set to start at 4 p.m. CT.
Alabama 6, LSU 1
SINGLES
1. No. 41 Mazen Osama (Alabama) def. No. 47 Jordan Daigle (LSU) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
2. No. 103 Thibault Cancel (Alabama) def. No. 43 Justin Butsch (LSU) 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
3. Edson Ortiz (Alabama) def. Rafael Wagner (LSU) 7-6, 6-1
4. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) def. Gabor Csonka (LSU) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
5. Nikola Samardzic (LSU) def. Spencer Richey (Alabama) 2-6, 7-5, 7-5
6. Zhe Zhou (Alabama) def. Eric Samuelsson (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 6,3,1,5,4,2
DOUBLES
1. No. 66 Mazen Osama/Spencer Richey (Alabama) def. Jordan Daigle/Justin Butsch (LSU) 6-4
2. Alexey Nesterov/Thibault Cancel (Alabama) def. Gabor Csonka/Julian Saborio (LSU) 6-3
3. Zhe Zhou/Edson Ortiz (Alabama) vs. Rafael Wagner/Agie Moreno (LSU) 4-5, DNF
Order of finish: 2,1
Alabama 4, Troy 1
SINGLES
1. No. 103 Thibault Cancel (Alabama) def. Hassan Ndayishimye (Troy) 6-2, 6-1
2. Edson Ortiz (Alabama) vs. Pablo Moreno (Troy) 7-6, 2-6, 1-0 DNF
3. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) vs. Andy Lau (Troy) 3-6, 6-6 DNF
4. Spencer Richey (Alabama) def. Amer Belcora (Troy) 6-4, 7-6
5. Zhe Zhou (Alabama) def. Mustapha Belcora (Troy) 6-2, 7-5
6. Jaiqi Duan (Troy) def. Langford Hills (Alabama) 7-6, 6-2
Order of finish: 1,6,5,4
DOUBLES
1. Ritchie Kruunenberg/Spencer Richey (Alabama) def. Andre Baldo/Mustapha Belcora (Troy) 7-6
2. Hassan Ndayishimye/Pablo Moreno (Troy) def. Thibault Cancel/Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) 6-3
3. Zhe Zhou/Edson Ortiz (Alabama) def. Jaiqi Duan/Andy Lau (Troy) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,2,1
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