Alabama Men’s Tennis Extends Perfect Record to 10-0 After Defeating Pepperdine, 6-1

Friday, February 9

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6 p.m. CT

Alabama

Pepperdine

Alabama Men’s Tennis Extends Perfect Record to 10-0 After Defeating Pepperdine, 6-1

2/9/2018 9:31:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery Match Results (PDF)

The Crimson Tide clinched the match at 4-0, before playing out the rest of the singles matches

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis team improved to 10-0 on the season with a 6-1 win over Pepperdine on Friday night inside the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Tennis Facility.

"It was a very gritty win tonight and I'm happy for our guys," said head coach George Husack. "Our guys were pushed up against the wall, I thought that Pepperdine really fought their tails off. They are 43-time West Coast Conference Champions, with 83 All-Americans in that program, so there was certainly a lot to play for and they came out swinging tonight and it was a great challenge for us to face."

The Crimson Tide took care of the Waves (1-5) 4-0, before playing out the rest of the singles matches moving the final score to 6-1. The Tide is now one win away from tying the best start to a season in program history, when UA started the 2003 campaign at 11-0.

In doubles play, the sophomore duo of Alexey Nesterov and Thibault Cancel suffered their first loss as a pair in the dual match season, falling to Uspensky/Esses, 6-1. The Tide bounced back with the freshmen tandem of Patrick Kaukovalta and Riccardo Roberto who defeated Iamanchkine/Mendelsohn, 6-3. For the third consecutive match, it was up to the No. 22 doubles pair in the country in junior Mazen Osama and sophomore Edson Ortiz to clinch the doubles point for Alabama. The two came through for the third-straight match to put the Tide up 1-0.

In singles action, Cancel cruised past Yusuf Khamis, 6-2, 6-2, while moments later Nesterov finished up against Max Menndelsohn, 6-4, 6-3 to give UA control and the 3-0 lead. Ortiz continued his dominance in singles play with a straight-set win over Brian Berdusco to clinch the victory for the Tide.

Later on, Osama used a comeback tiebreak thriller, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7) over Dennis Uspensky to further the Alabama advantage to 5-0. After Roberto fell to Pedro Iamachkine, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9), it was Kaukovalta who ended the match for UA with another gutsy tiebreaking win, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (12-10), over Dane Esses.

The Tide will return to action with a doubleheader this Sunday, Feb. 11 against San Diego State (1 p.m.) and Lipscomb (6 p.m.), inside the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Tennis Facility.

Alabama Results:

Singles:

Mazen Osama def. Dennis Uspensky, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7)

Thibault Cancel def. Yusuf Khamis, 6-2, 6-2

Patrick Kaukovalta def. Dane Esses, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (12-10)

Edson Ortiz def. Brian Berdusco, 6-3, 6-3

Pedro Iamachkine def. Riccardo Roberto, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9)

Alexey Nesterov def. Max Mendelsohn, 6-4, 6-3

Order of Finish: 2, 6, 4, 1, 5, 3

Doubles:

No. 22 Ortiz/Osama def. Berdusco/Baez, 6-4

Uspensky/Esses def. Cancel/Nesterov, 6-1

Roberto/Kaukovalta def. Iamachkine/Mendelsohn, 6-3

Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1

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