Alabama
Georgia
No. 20 Alabama Men’s Tennis Drops Road Match at No. 28 Georgia, 4-1
3/29/2019 7:27:00 PM | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 20-ranked Alabama men's tennis team fell on the road to the No. 28-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, 4-1, Friday night at the Magill Tennis Complex. The Crimson Tide drops to 13-7 on the season and 3-5 in SEC play, while the Bulldogs improve to 8-8 and 4-4 in league competition.
"Good effort from the guys," UA head coach George Husack said. "We were right there in doubles and singles but give Georgia credit for their resolve. I saw our guys compete at a high level regardless of the doubles outcome or the home crowd. We will build on this effort and have another opportunity to improve as competitors on Sunday."
Georgia took a 1-0 lead in the match following doubles after winning on two of the three courts. At the No. 3 spot, junior Edson Ortiz and sophomore Riccardo Roberto picked up the 6-4 victory over the Bulldog's Trent Bryde and Blake Croyder, to give Alabama the advantage. The Bulldogs evened the count as they battled to a 7-5 win against juniors Alexey Nesterov and Zhe Zhou. The point would come down to the matchup on court one, where No. 47 Robert Loeb and Jan Zielinski pulled away in an intense tiebreaker to claim the 7-6 (11-9) decision over No. 15 sophomore Patrick Kaukovalta and senior Mazen Osama.
In singles, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead after winning back-to-back matches at No. 1 and No. 6. On court one, No. 13 Zielinski took down No. 39 Osama 6-2, 6-3, to extend UGA's advantage by two. Then, sophomore Jeremy Gschwendtner tallied his first singles loss in SEC play, falling on court six to Blake Croyder 6-3, 6-2, to lift Georgia to a three-point lead. Kaukovalta picked up a win on court three to put Alabama on the scoreboard, topping Bryde 7-6(5), 6-1. For the win, No. 78 Walker Duncan defeated Zhou at No. 5, 7-6(3), 7-5.
Up next, Alabama will head to Knoxville, Tenn. to face No. 15 Tennessee on Sunday at noon CT.
Alabama Results
Doubles
1. No. 47 Robert Loeb/Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. No. 15 Patrick Kaukovalta/Mazen Osama (UA) 7-6 (11-9)
2. Walker Duncan/Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Alexey Nesterov/Zhe Zhou (UA) 7-5
3. Edson Ortiz/Riccardo Roberto (UA) def. Trent Bryde/Blake Croyder (UGA) 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. No. 13 Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. No. 39 Mazen Osama (UA) 6-2, 6-3
2. No. 21 Emil Reinberg (UGA) vs. Edson Ortiz (UA) 5-7, 6-0, 2-4, unfinished
3. Patrick Kaukovalta (UA) def. Trent Bryde (UGA) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
4. Robert Loeb (UGA) vs. Riccardo Roberto (UA) 5-7, 6-3, 1-4, unfinished
5. No. 78 Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Zhe Zhou (UA) 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
6. Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Jeremy Gschwendtner (UA) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 3, 5
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Players Mentioned
