Alabama
Ole Miss
No. 16 Alabama Men’s Tennis Finishes Blue Gray National Tennis Classic Strong
2/23/2019 8:34:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Crimson Tide fell to No. 48 Ole Miss, before defeating No. 32 Texas Tech
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No.16-ranked Alabama men's tennis team fell to No. 48 Ole Miss, 4-2, before besting No. 32 Texas Tech, 4-1, on Saturday at the 71st Blue Gray National Tennis Classic at Lagoon Park in Montgomery, Ala.
"This morning we were not ready to go and I take full responsibility for that," said head coach George Husack. "Ole Miss was prepared and gave us a serving of humble pie. While we were served some humility, we remained hungry and responded very well tonight. That's what competing is in its simplest form. It was a team effort proving there is strength in numbers."
After Saturday's results the Crimson Tide will enter Southeastern Conference play with a 10-2 mark.
The Tide began the day with a 1-0 advantage over the Rebels after earning the doubles point on Friday. Ole Miss responded with three-straight singles wins to take the 3-1 lead.
Sophomore Riccardo Roberto picked up his first of two singles wins on the day when he defeated Cotter Wilson, 6-4, 6-2, on court six, to cut the deficit 3-2. The Rebels clinched the win after earning a victory on court three.
UA responded by defeating TTU in the second match of the day. Senior Mazen Osama and sophomore Patrick Kaukovalta dominated the No. 8-ranked doubles pair in the country in Thomson/Wynn, 6-1. However, the Red Raiders won on courts two and three to claim the doubles point.
Alabama cruised through singles play, rattling off four straight victories to clinch the 4-1 win. Junior Edson Ortiz defeated No. 115 Parker Wynn and shortly after No. 108 Kaukovalta was victorious on court three to give the Tide the 2-1 advantage.
No. 32 Osama earned the 6-3, 6-2, win over No. 114 Tommy Mylnikov and Roberto clinched the match with his 6-4, 6-3, victory against Franco Ribero to conclude the tournament.
Alabama will return to action for its first SEC match of the season when it hosts No. 20 LSU at the Alabama Tennis Stadium on Friday, March 1 at 6 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed live on RollTide.com.
Alabama Results
(vs. Ole Miss)
Doubles
- Osama/Kaukovalta def. Soren Hain/Kraljevic, 7-6(7)
- Ortiz/Zhou def. Wilson/Fallert, 6-3
- Junk/Kranic def. Nesterov/Fischer, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
- Tim Sandkaulen def. No. 32 Mazen Osama, 6-4, 6-1
- Edson Ortiz vs. Filip Kraljevic, 2-6, 7-6(5), unf.
- Fabian Fallert def. No. 108 Patrick Kaukovalta, 6-4, 6-3
- Karlo Kranic def. Zhe Zhou, 6-2, 6-3
- Simon Junk def. Alexey Nesterov, 6-0, 6-0
- Riccardo Roberto def. Cotter Wilson, 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 4, 6, 3
(vs. Texas Tech)
Doubles
- Osama/Kaukovalta def. Krstanovic/Levin, 6-3
- Oglivy/Allen def. Cancel/Nesterov, 7-6(5)
- Alpeza/Milicevic def. Zhou/Ortiz, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
- No. 32 Mazen Osama def. No. 114 Tommy Mylnikov, 6-3, 6-2
- Edson Ortiz def. No. 115 Parker Wynn, 6-0, 6-1
- No. 108 Patrick Kaukovalta def. Bjorn Thomson, 6-3, 6-2
- Ilgiz Valiev vs. Zhe Zhou, 6-0, 6-5, unf.
- Jeremy Gschwendtner vs. Artem Kapshuk, 6-2, 1-4, unf.
- Riccardo Roberto def. Franco Ribero, 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1, 6
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.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,1,4,6,3
Players Mentioned
