Alabama
University of South Carolina
Alabama Men’s Tennis Shutout Jackson State During Saturday’s Doubleheader
4/1/2017 8:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Crimson Tide collected five singles wins and four doubles victories on the day
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis team shutout Jackson State, 4-0, prior to losing a 4-3 decision to No. 21 South Carolina on Saturday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. After the pair of contests, the Crimson Tide moves to a 9-14 overall record including a 1-8 mark in Southeastern Conference play. Alabama collected five singles wins and four doubles victories on the day.
South Carolina registered the first doubles victory in the first contest of the day, as Sam Swank and Alex Fennell topped freshmen Alexey Nesterov and Thibault Cancel in a 6-4 decision on court one. The Tide responded back, as freshmen Zhe Zhou and Edson Ortiz won a 6-4 decision on court three over Gabriel Friedrich and Andrew Schafer. With the doubles point on the line, Alabama's No. 40 ranked doubles tandem defeated South Carolina's No. 47 ranked doubles team Yancy Dennis and Harrison O'Keefe, 7-5, on the top court to give the Tide a 1-0 match lead headed into singles play.
South Carolina's No. 88 ranked singles player O'Keefe won in straight sets over Alabama's No. 105 ranked singles player Cancel (No. 2), 6-1, 6-1, tying the match score at 1-1 to begin singles action. Senior Ritchie Kruunenberg (No. 6) lost in straight sets to Fennell, 6-3, 6-2, giving the Gamecocks a 2-1 match advantage. The Tide replied back with a win on the top court to tie the match score at 2-2, as its No. 35 ranked singles player Osama (No. 1) claimed a 7-6, 6-0 victory over South Carolina's No. 59 ranked singles player Friedrich. Nesterov (No. 3) went on to win in straight sets over Schafer, 7-5, 7-5, to give the Tide a 3-2 match advantage. South Carolina bounced back to equalize the match score at 3-3, as Dennis outlasted Richey (No. 4) in a match that was decided in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. With the match point on the line, Paul Jubb defeated Zhou (No. 5) in straight sets, 7-6, 7-6, to clinch the 4-3 match victory over the Tide.
Alabama dominated doubles play in the second match of the day against Jackson State, as Osama and Cancel won a 6-1 decision on the top court against Ryan Swanier and Fritz Jacobs marking the first victory of the contest. Senior Hayes Brewer and sophomore Langford Hills teamed up to defeat Vishu Prasad and Stylianos Gkontsaris, 6-2, on court three to clinch the doubles point, giving the Tide a 1-0 match lead headed into singles play.
Kruunenberg (No. 4) extended Alabama's lead to 2-0, when picked up a quick win in straight sets over Stylianos Gkontsaris, 6-3, 6-0, to begin singles play. The Tide continued to roll, as Hills (No. 5) defeated Federico Mendeita Ruiz in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0, to lengthen Alabama's match advantage to 3-0. Nesterov (No. 2) clinched the Alabama match victory, as he topped Joan Sanson in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, resulting in the final match score.
The Tide will be back in action on Friday, Aril 7, when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores in a match that is set to start at 4 p.m. CT.
Alabama 3, No. 21 South Carolina 4
SINGLES
1. No. 35 Mazen Osama (Alabama) def. No. 59 Gabriel Friedrich (South Carolina) 7-6, 6-0
2. No. 88 Harris O'Keefe (South Carolina) def. No. 105 Thibault Cancel (Alabama) 6-1, 6-1
3. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) def. Andrew Schafer (South Carolina) 7-5, 7-5
4. Yancy Dennis (South Carolina) def. Spencer Richey (Alabama) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. Paul Jubb (South Carolina) def. Zhe Zhou (Alabama) 7-6, 7-6
6. Alex Fennell (South Carolina) def. Ritchie Kruunenberg (Alabama) 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 2,6,1,3,4,5
DOUBLES
1. No. 40 Mazen Osama/Spencer Richey (Alabama) def. No. 47 Yancy Dennis/Harrison O'Keefe (South Carolina) 7-5
2. Sam Swank/Alex Fennell (South Carolina) def. Thibault Cancel/Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) 6-4
3. Zhe Zhou/Edson Ortiz (Alabama) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Andrew Schafer (South Carolina) 6-4
Order of finish: 2,3,1
Alabama 4, Jackson State 0
SINGLES
1. No. 105 Thibault Cancel (Alabama) vs. Alawi Andrey (Jackson State) 6-3, 4-1, DNF
2. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) vs. Joan Sanson (Jackson State) 6-1, 6-1
3. Spencer Richey (Alabama) vs. Fritz Jacobs (Jackson State) 6-3, 3-4, DNF
4. Ritchie Kruunenberg (Alabama) def. Stylianos Gkontsaris (Jackson State) 6-3, 6-0
5. Langford Hills (Alabama) def. Federico Mendeita Ruiz (Jackson State) 6-4, 6-0
6. Hayes Brewer (Alabama) vs. Vishu Prasad (Jackson State) 4-6, 2-3, DNF
Order of finish: 4,5,2
DOUBLES
1. Mazen Osama/Thibault Cancel (Alabama) def. Alawi Andrey/Federico Mendeita Ruiz (Jackson State) 6-1
2. Ritchie Kruunenberg/Spencer Richey (Alabama) vs. Ryan Swanier/Fritz Jacobs (Jackson State) 3-2
3. Langford Hills/Hayes Brewer (Alabama) def. Stylianos Gkontsaris/Vishu Prasad (Jackson State) 6-2
Order of finish: 1,3
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