Alabama
Vanderbilt University
Alabama Men’s Tennis Falls Short Against Vanderbilt in First Round of 2017 SEC Tournament
4/26/2017 2:11:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Crimson Tide dropped a 4-2 decision to the Commodores in the opening match of the 2017 SEC Tournament
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Alabama men's tennis team lost a 4-2 decision to the 49th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores in the first round of the 2017 Southeastern Conference Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at the Barksdale Stadium on the campus of The University of Tennessee. With the loss, the Crimson Tide falls to an 11-17 record including a 2-11 mark in conference play, while Vanderbilt improves to 12-14 and 3-10 in league play.
The Tide collected the first doubles victory of the match, as its No. 12 ranked doubles tandem in sophomores Mazen Osama and Spencer Richey defeated Pen Binet and Baker Newman in a 6-3 decision on the top court. Vanderbilt replied with back-to-back wins on courts two and three to clinch the doubles point taking a 1-0 lead headed in to singles play. Tate Allwardt and Billy Rowe topped freshmen Thibault Cancel and Alexey Nesterov in a 6-3 result on court two, before Daniel Valent and Panu Virtanen overcame freshmen Edson Ortiz and Zhe Zhou, 6-4, on court three.
The Commodores extended their match lead to 2-0 to begin singles, as its No. 107 ranked singles player Newman won in straight sets over Alabama's No. 119 ranked singles player Cancel (No. 2), 6-3, 6-2. Alabama responded back with a win of its own, as Richey (No. 6) won a match that was decided in three sets over Binet, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1, trimming Vanderbilt's match lead to 2-1. The Tide registered one more singles victory in the contest, as Zhou (No. 5) topped Allwardt in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, to equalize the match score at 2-2. Vanderbilt's No. 54 ranked singles player Valent went on to outlast Alabama's No. 27 ranked singles player Osama (No. 1), 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-4, to give the Commodores a 3-2 match advantage, before Rowe overcame Nesterov (No. 3) in a 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-1 result to clinch the match victory.
Alabama 2, No. 49 Vanderbilt 4
SINGLES
1. No. 54 Daniel Valent (Vanderbilt) def. No. 27 Mazen Osama (Alabama) 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-4
2. No. 107 Baker Newman (Vanderbilt) def. No. 119 Thibault Cancel (Alabama) 6-3, 6-2
3. Billy Rowe (Vanderbilt) def. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-1
4. Edson Ortiz (Alabama) vs. Panu Virtanen (Vanderbilt) 6-2, 4-6, 5-5, DNF
5. Zhe Zhou (Alabama) def. Tate Allwardt (Vanderbilt) 7-6(3), 6-3
6. Spencer Richey (Alabama) def. Pen Binet (Vanderbilt) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 2,6,5,1,3
DOUBLES
1. No. 12 Mazen Osama/Spencer Richey (Alabama) def. Pen Binet/Baker Newman (Vanderbilt) 6-3
2. Tate Allwardt/Billy Rowe (Vanderbilt) def. Thibault Cancel/Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) 6-3
3. Daniel Valent/Panu Virtanen (Vanderbilt) def. Edson Ortiz/Zhe Zhou (Alabama) 6-4
Order of finish: 1,2,3
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
