Alabama
Samford
Alabama Men’s Tennis Continues Perfect Season With Two Wins on Saturday
1/20/2018 8:51:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Crimson Tide defeated Samford 7-0 and Chattanooga 6-1 to improve to 6-0 on the year
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis team shutout Samford, 7-0 and then defeated Chattanooga 6-1 on Saturday inside the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility. With the two wins the Crimson Tide (6-0) remains undefeated on the year and continues to build its best start to the season since 2008.
"I'm extremely impressed across the board with this group today," said head coach George Husack. "We had a great match against Samford during the day and to come back tonight (against Chattanooga) with a lot more energy and finish off a strong weekend makes me very happy for them."
The sophomore duo of Thibault Cancel and Alexey Nesterov got Alabama on the right track by defeating Norval/Petrovic 6-2 in doubles play. After freshmen Patrick Kaukovalta and Grant Stuckey fell to Rebol/Ghavami 6-3, it was up to sophomore Edson Ortiz and junior Mazen Osama to win the doubles point for the Tide. After trailing 4-1, the pair rallied by winning five consecutive games to take the match 6-4, giving UA the 1-0 lead.
In singles play, Cancel cruised past Justin Ghavami, 6-3, 6-0, while Nesterov defeated Aleksandar Petrovic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1 to give the Tide the 3-0 advantage.
Alabama clinched the win when sophomore Zhe Zhou took care of Eduardo Lourido, 6-1, 6-2. Osama won over Jake Faundez, 6-2, 6-3, while Stuckey dominated Max Rebol, 6-3, 6-2, and Ortiz ended the match by edging Rossouw Norval 6-3, 6-4.
In the night cap against Chattanooga, the Tide swept the doubles matches to take the 1-0 edge heading into singles play. Freshman Sam Fischer and Stuckey bested Marshall/Long, 6-2, while Ortiz and freshman Patrick Kaukovalta pushed past Llebeili, 6-3 and Cancel/Nesterov downed Gerdes/Bustamante, 6-2.
In singles competition, Nesterov had no troubles against Luke Plaisted, winning 6-1, 6-3, while Ortiz was not far behind, taking care of Pablo Llebeili, 6-3, 6-2 just moments later. Cancel picked up his second singles win of the day by defeating Simon Bustamante, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch the win for the Tide.
Osama and Stuckey continued the winning for the Tide with straight-set wins over Niklas Gerdes (6-2, 7-6 (2)) and Jacob Marshall (6-4, 6-3).
Alabama men's tennis will return to action on Friday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. CT with another home match when it takes on Virginia Tech inside the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility.
Alabama Results:
Singles: (Match 1 vs. Samford)
1. Mazen Osama vs. Jake Faundez, 6-2, 6-3
2. Thibault Cancel def. Justin Ghavami, 6-3, 6-0
3. Zhe Zhou def. Eduardo Lourido, 6-1, 6-2
4. Edson Ortiz def. Rossouw Norval, 6-3, 6-4
5. Alexey Nesterov def. Aleksandar Petrovic, 6-3, 6-1
6. Grant Stuckey def. Max Rebol, 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 3, 1, 6, 4
Singles: (Match 2 vs. Chattanooga)
1. Mazen Osama def. Niklas Gerdes, 6-2, 7-6 (2)
2. Thibault Cancel def. Simon Bustamante, 6-3, 6-2
3. Edson Ortiz def. Pablo Llebeili, 6-3, 6-1
4. Alexey Nesterov def. Luke Plaisted, 6-1, 6-3
5. Grant Stuckey def. Jacob Marshall, 6-4, 6-3
6. Cooper Long def. Sam Fischer, 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 2, 5, 1, 6
Doubles: (Match 1 vs. Samford)
1. Ortiz/Osama def. Faundez/Lourido, 6-4
2. Cancel/Nesterov def. Norval/Petrovic, 6-2
3. Rebol/Ghavami def. Kaukovalta/Stuckey, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Doubles: (Match 2 vs. Chattanooga)
1. Cancel/Nesterov def. Gerdes/Bustamante, 6-2
2. Ortiz/Kaukovalta def. Llebeili/Plaisted, 6-3
3. Fischer/Stuckey def. Marshall/Long, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,5,3,1,6,4
Players Mentioned
