Net News - April 13
4/13/2017 9:49:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Hello from Rocky Top…Rocky Top?
That's where the Crimson Tide are this week for a Thursday match-up with the Volunteers, aka Vols. How fast the season has gone as we're at the top of the stretch and headed for home. We've had quite the ride this season with some really good tennis these past couple of weeks. My apologies for not submitting a post last week as recruiting and competition took me this way and that way. Prior to last weekend's pair of nail biters, we closed out our home campaign with a fabulous Senior Day for Hayes Brewer and Ritchie Kruunenberg. We were neck and neck with South Carolina until the last match on and they nipped us by a nose at the wire for a 4-3 victory. While we certainly had opportunities to close things out against the Gamecocks, we had to rebound and return to the courts later that evening against Jackson State. The guys refueled and recovered well sending the Tide home on Saturday night with a solid win over the Tigers.
After a few days of practice on court and treatment in the training room with Katie "The Magician" Wheeler, we hopped on a sleeper bus for our longest road trip of the year. The first stop was the "Country Music Capital of the World" - Nashville, Tennessee, home of the Vanderbilt Commodores. Vandy celebrated their Senior Day on Friday night and we were ready for the challenge. After we won a gritty doubles point thanks to Spencer/Mazen and Alexey/Thibault, singles began while a strong wind swirled throughout the Currey Tennis Center. Points, games, sets and matches were traded back and forth. The 'Dores jumped out to a 3-1 lead but the night was not over. Zhe chalked up our 2nd point with a solid straight set win at #5 and then Ritchie K. came from behind to win a huge 3-set tug-of-war contest that evened the score. Mazen was in control on court 1 but his opponent fought valiantly to force a third set. Serving at 5-5 Mazen's serve was broken and Vandy was able to take the match with a 7-5 victory. A tough pill to swallow for our sophomore but Mazen put us in a position to win and that was the important part. We needed to learn from the match and move on.
We headed out Saturday morning for the Bluegrass State and a showdown with the Wildcats of Kentucky. Those that remember last Spring, the Cats came to Tuscaloosa and stole a 4-3 victory. This time we were headed to the "Horse Capital of the World" with a similar goal in mind. Kentucky had been ranked as high as #14 in the country this season and currently stood at #23. They had plenty of post-season experience and were coming off a season in which they lost nobody from their starting lineup. The wind was blowing above 15 mph on Sunday which provided a tremendous advantage at one end of the court while the other side required strength, determination and patience. The Wildcats were also celebrating Senior Day so there was a little more strut with their step following presentations to a pair of seniors. Spencer/Mazen claimed another win at the top doubles spot and then Kentucky responded with a victory at #3. It all came down to the freshman-freshman combo of Alexey/Thibault who used aggressive serving and net movement to clinch the doubles point again for the Tide in a high quality tiebreaker.
Now onto singles we went with a 1-0 lead, but after just over an hour, Mazen and Thibault had recorded very quick and impressive results at #1 and #2 singles. Bama 3, Kentucky 0. While the finish line seemed so close, this home stretch was much like the one at the Belmont Stakes as it seemed to go on forever. Little by little, the Cats chipped away. First winning at #6 singles and then taking 3-set marathons at #3 and #4 singles. All eyes, cheers and focus now shifted to court #5 where Zhe was in a second clinching moment of his young Alabama career (the first one coming just a week prior against South Carolina). After dropping the first set, Zhe roared back to take the second. The wind continued to blow strong and favorably in one direction but our freshman from Tianjin, China dug in deep. He broke his opponent at 4-3 and then served out the match for the visiting Crimson Tide and sealed a courageous and exciting 4-3 win. Match Bama…Roll Tide! Click here to watch a full view of match point. Click here to watch a side angle of the celebration.
The team celebrated with a very tasty meal at Joe Bologna's Italian Pizzeria followed by incredible ice-cream at Sav's Chill. We also got to catch the end of The Masters which once again provided excitement, drama and celebration. Winning this match was such an incredible feeling. First, beating Kentucky on their turf was not an easy task. Second, after dropping such heartbreakers to South Carolina and Vanderbilt, one may have thought that our spirit would go on a walkabout…but it didn't. I have been so impressed and amazed by the strength and spirit of our team this season. I have told the guys they have been doing the right things, and at some point, all those things would add up to a quality reward. Well, the screams of joy and jubilation were priceless and well worth the wait after Zhe hit a service winner to clinch the win over Kentucky. Sometimes when you work week after week and don't get a carrot for the effort, it can be very easy to do one thing – give up. But that didn't happen and the quest for more memorable moments began again this week.
A quick turnaround it has been after a day off on Monday and lite practice on Tuesday. We headed northeast to Knoxville on Wednesday and face the Vols at high noon on Thursday. We will then cruise down the interstate and stop at Jacksonville State on the way home for a unique evening affair to close out our regular season. Easter weekend will thankfully be off and the SEC Championships, hosted by Tennessee, don't take place until April 26-30. But we can't focus on eggs, bunnies or jelly beans before we get after it again at "Rocky Top Tennessee".
Live scoring will be available so join us online, or if you want to make the trip up and over to the Eastern timezone, we will be ready for you. Congratulations to Mazen, Spencer and Thibault who all moved up in the ITA National Rankings this week. Mazen reached a new personal high in singles (#27). He and Spencer in doubles sit at their season high (#14). And our feisty, French, freshman Thibault jumped back inside the singles Top-100 (#97). Rankings aside, these guys and their teammates have done a super job improving and growing this season, while never losing their spirit. Here's to our next opportunity.
Roll Tide,
George
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