Alabama Men’s Tennis’ Comeback Falls Short in SEC Opener Against No. 34 Vanderbilt, 4-3

Friday, March 2

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

6 p.m. CT

Alabama

#34 Vanderbilt

Alabama Men’s Tennis’ Comeback Falls Short in SEC Opener Against No. 34 Vanderbilt, 4-3

3/2/2018 9:58:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery Match Results (PDF)

The Crimson Tide trailed 3-0, before tying up the match 3-3 with one singles match to play

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 44 Alabama men's tennis team dropped a hard-fought Southeastern Conference opener to No. 34 Vanderbilt, 4-3, at the Alabama Tennis Center on Friday night. With the loss the Crimson Tide falls to 14-2 overall and 0-1 in SEC play.

"Incredible match tonight," head coach George Husack said. "Incredible effort – monumental effort. We were in a big hole and there was a small glimmer of light and we just kept digging and digging and digging. It was just an incredible effort on their behalf tonight."

In doubles play, the No. 34 pair of junior Mazen Osama and sophomore Edson Ortiz suffered their first loss as a tandem, falling to Klinger/Rowe, 6-2, while the freshman duo of Patrick Kaukovalta and Riccardo Roberto dropped to Newman/Valent, 6-2. It was the first doubles point the Tide has conceded all season.

Vanderbilt continued to put on the pressure, with Baker Newman defeating Kaukovalta, 6-1, 6-2 to go up 2-0. Billy Rowe followed it up with a win over sophomore Zhe Zhou to push the lead to 3-0.

Later on, the Tide began its comeback with sophomore Alexey Nesterov getting UA on the board with a gutsy comeback win over George Harwell, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-1. Minutes later, Ortiz completed a come-from-behind victory of his own by defeating Max Freeman, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 to make it 3-2.

No. 113 Osama tied the match up at 3-3 after he willed his way to an epic 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 win over No. 50 Cameron Klinger. However, the match came down to No. 52 Daniel Valent and Thibualt Cancel, with Valent coming out on top, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 to seal the win for the Commodores.

The Crimson Tide will return to action on Sunday, Mar. 4 with another SEC match against No. 28 Kentucky. Alabama will play outdoors in the Alabama Tennis Stadium, with the match beginning at 1 p.m. CT.

Alabama Results:

Singles vs. Vanderbilt:

No. 113 Mazen Osama def. No. 50 Cameron Klinger, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4

No. 52 Daniel Valent def. Thibault Cancel, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2

Baker Newman def. Patrick Kaukovalta, 6-1, 6-2

Billy Rowe def. Zhe Zhou, 6-4, 6-4

Edson Ortiz def. Max Freeman, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2

Alexey Nesterov def. George Harwell, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-1

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

Doubles vs. Vanderbilt:

Klinger/Rowe def. No. 34 Ortiz/Osama, 6-2

No. 40 Cancel/Nesterov vs. McPhee/Virtanen, 5-2, unf.

Newman/Valent def. Roberto/Kaukovalta, 6-2

Order of Finish: 1, 3

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