Net News - SEC Championships Edition
4/18/2019 8:14:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Hello from the Swamp.
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We're here in Gainesville for SEC Championship week. The season culminates in the land of the Gators and brings all thirteen men's tennis programs together to play for one trophy and one tournament title. Â The Florida staff has put all the pieces in place to host an exciting event and we are ready to get things started. Â For a third time this Spring, Ole Miss stands on the other side of the net. Â We competed against the Rebels in Montgomery at the Blue Gray Classic, and in Tuscaloosa during the conference portion of our season. Â The Landsharks (their present day mascot name) prevailed in both narrow contests with not much separating the winner and loser other than a few points here and there. Â Isn't that usually the case? Â Be that as it may, it really comes down to who is going to play with the most discipline, be courageous with their opportunities and relentless with their pursuit? Â
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Well last week, at our final regular season match against Arkansas, our squad checked all the boxes.  Prior to the match we honored Mazen Osama, our lone senior and 4-year starter at the top spot in singles and doubles. The voice of Alabama men's tennis, Alan Cunningham, read a through a long list of Maz's accomplishments during his college career before he took center stage on court 1.  Walking hand in hand with his mother Hanan while a healthy home crowd gave him a notable ovation, Mazen hugged players, support staff and coaches one by one and was presented with a framed jersey with action photos mounted from his freshman, sophomore, junior and senior seasons…quite the reminder of the path he had taken and how quickly it had flown by.  One notable tidbit about Mazen (taken from a post-match interview) was how grateful he was for the impact that so many people in the Tuscaloosa community had on him which allowed him to grow as a person.  And while he couldn't believe that he was about to graduate, it was Mazen's hope that he too had an impact on those in T-Town.  I'd say Mazen accomplished this in many ways as a fascinating tennis player, a successful student-athlete and an upstanding young man.
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The match against the Razorbacks was exciting from start to finish.  Speaking of "Finnish", Patrick Kaukovalta, and doubles teammate Mazen led the charge in on court 1 with big serves and returns that proved too much for their Hog foes.  While our visitors pushed back with vengeance on court 2 against Edson and Riccardo, they were then introduced to the Fischer-Zhou energy bus.  Sam and and Zhe had the blood flowing early and often in their doubles battle.  A late service break, however, gave Arkansas a chance to serve out the match for the coveted doubles point.  That's when the energy bus really revved up its engine.  Return after return produced attacking opportunities and the sophomore-junior pair broke back to even the match at 5-5.  After each duo held serve in the next two games, the result came down to a tiebreaker.  Did I say something about revving up an engine?  Sam and Zhe put the pedal on the metal and steamrolled to a 7-0 breaker win and a 1-0 lead heading into singles.  Point Bama!  Roll Tide!Â
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We split six first sets in singles and the tug-of-war was in full swing. Â The Hogs were ruthless and dangerous when backed into a corner. Mazen gave our rope a mighty pull and was first off court with a convincing straight set win. His victory ignited his teammates and the race to four points continued. While Riccardo appeared to be on his way to tallying another point for the crimson and white, Edson fought back from a set down with a resounding three set W. Â With the score now at 3-0, Patrick was in a tight third, Jeremy was doing his best not to go three and Zhe looked to clinch the match for the Tide...which he ultimately did and the night was over following a 4-0 victory. Match Bama! Roll Tide!
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The team celebrated with a very tasty post match meal and earned a couple of days off to prepare for tournament week. So here we are in Gainesville, ready to go and driven to compete our tails off against Ole Miss. We're ready for the next step in this year's process and invite you to join us online at www.gatorzone.com with live streaming or live stats.  As the SEC motto states, "it just means more."  See you back on dry land in Tuscaloosa.Â
Roll Tide and Roll SEC Roll,
GeorgeÂ
Players Mentioned
