Alabama Shines in Day One of Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis dominated singles play with all four players picking up victories, while junior Riccardo Roberto and senior Alexey Nesterov advanced to the doubles final in the Crimson Draw in the first day of the Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall on Friday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.

Round-by-Round

In the first round of doubles play, Roberto/Nesterov were down 6-4, only to come back and win 8-6 over Mandlik/Stewart of Oklahoma. In the first round of the Houndstooth Draw, freshmen Avi Shugar and Marcelo Sepulveda Garza fell down. 6-1, before battling back, but falling short in the end with Meier/Stodder (Tennessee) taking the 8-6 victory.
Roberto/Nesterov continued their success in round two of doubles, pulling off the 8-5 win against Becroft/Ramskogler of Mississippi State to advance to the Crimson Draw Final on Sunday. The freshmen duo of Shugar/Sepulveda Garza took their second loss of the day to Bojac/Collard of South Alabama, 8-6, in consolation.
In the Crimson Singles Draw, Roberto and Sepulveda Garza picked up wins in the Round of 16. Roberto defeated Martim Prata (Tennessee), 7-6(3), 6-2, while Sepulveda Garza earned his first collegiate win against Roman Postolka (UAB), 7-5, 6-1.
On the Houndstooth side, Shugar also battled to his first win of his Alabama career after besting Martin Bugaj (South Alabama), 6-2, 7-5. Nesterov earned a gritty three-set win over Alex Phillips (Georgia), 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Tournament Notes

Both Nesterov and Roberto finished 3-0 on the day after winning two doubles matches and their singles contests.
Shugar and Sepulveda Garza each earned their first collegiate wins after coming out victorious in straight sets in singles action.

Up Next

On Saturday, two rounds of singles matches starting at 9 a.m. The final day of the event will be on Sunday with the last round of doubles and singles competition starting at 9 a.m.
Tomorrow Roberto plays Tulane senior, Tim Reutzel, Sepulveda Garza matches up with South Alabama veteran, Clement Marzol, Shugar takes on Jan Soren Hain of Ole Miss, while Nesterov plays against Michal Lusovsky of UAB. All matches will start at 9 a.m. CT.
Roberto/Nesterov will play Chrysostom/Prata (Tennessee) in the Crimson Doubles Final on Sunday at 9 a.m., while Shugar/Sepulveda Garza are set to take on Bertsch/Rodriguez (Oklahoma) in consolations at the same time.

Alabama Results

Crimson Doubles Draw

Nesterov/Roberto def. Mandlik/Stewart (OU), 8-6
Nesterov/Roberto def. Bugaj/Collard, 8-5
Nesterov/Roberto vs. Chrysostom/Prata (TENN) - Sun. at 9 a.m.

Houndstooth Doubles Draw

Meier/Stodder (TENN) def. Sepulveda Garza/Shugar, 8-6
Bogaj/Collard (USA) def. Sepulveda Garza/Shugar, 8-6
Sepulveda Garza/Shugar vs. Bertsch/Rodriguez (OU) – Sun. at 9 a.m.

Crimson Singles Draw

Riccardo Roberto def. Martim Prata (TENN), 7-6(3), 6-2
Marcelo Sepulveda Garza def. Roman Postolka (UAB), 7-5, 6-1
Riccardo Roberto vs. Tim Reutzel (TUL) – Sat. 9 a.m.
Marcelo Sepulveda Garza vs. Clement Marzol (USA) – Sat. at 9 a.m.

Houndstooth Singles Draw

Avi Shugar def. Martin Bugaj (USA), 6-2, 7-5
Alexey Nesterov def. Alex Phillips (UGA), 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
Avi Shugar vs. Jan Soren Hain (MISS) – Sat. at 9 a.m.
Alexey Nesterov vs. Michal Lusovsky (UAB) – Sat. at 9 a.m.

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