Men's Tennis Defeats Arizona, Before Falling in Blue Gray National Tennis Classic Final to Ole Miss

Friday, February 21

Montgomery, Ala.

4 p.m. CT

Alabama

Arizona

Men's Tennis Defeats Arizona, Before Falling in Blue Gray National Tennis Classic Final to Ole Miss

2/22/2020 11:04:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Results (ARIZ)Results (MISS)

The Crimson Tide defeated the Wildcats 4-2, before a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to the Rebels

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama men's tennis team started the day with a 4-2 victory over No. 46 Arizona, before falling to No. 20 Ole Miss, 4-3, in the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic finale on Saturday in Montgomery, Ala. The last three matchups between the Crimson Tide (9-3) and the Rebels (9-1) have ended in a 4-3 decision.

From Coach Husack

"Valiant effort by the guys all weekend. They Were challenged in each match and welcomed the opportunity with open arms," said head coach George Husack. "We had contributions from everyone and most importantly continued to make progress as a team."

Doubles (vs. Arizona – Fri.)

After a quick loss on court three, Alabama could not recover. The Tide picked up a win from junior Patrick Kaukovalta and senior Alexey Nesterov at the No. 1 spot, before senior Edson Ortiz and freshman Marcelo Sepulveda Garza dropped in a tiebreaker, 6-7(5).

Singles (vs. Arizona)

The Wildcats (10-3) found themselves up 2-0 before the Crimson Tide stormed back. Junior No. 125 Riccardo Roberto cruised to the 6-3, 6-4 win over Alejandro Requant, while junior Jeremy Gschwendtner won in straight sets to tie it up at 2-2. Nesterov earned a hard-fought three-set win versus Igor Karpovets, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
On court five, Kaukovalta battled and clawed his way, winning two tiebreakers to take the three-set victory over Carlos Hassey and clinch a spot in the championship.

Doubles (vs. Ole Miss)

The Rebels dominated doubles play to take the 1-0 lead to start.

Singles (vs. Ole Miss)

The two sides battled back-and-forth with Kaukovalta picking up his second win of the day, this time in a much easier fashion, 6-3, 6-3, over Simon Junk. However, Ole Miss responded moments later with a win on court three to give the Rebels the 2-1 edge.
No. 80 Ortiz defeated No. 40 Tim Sandkaulen, 6-3, 6-2, to tie it up briefly, when the Rebels answered with another singles win on court six. Alabama made it 3-3 after senior Zhe Zhou earned a 6-2, 7-6(6) victory against Jan Soren Hain. The Rebels sealed the final point on court four when Nikola Slavic edged Nesterov, 6-7(6), 7-6(1), 6-4.

Up Next

Alabama will open Southeastern Conference play on Friday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. CT in Gainesville, Fla., against No. 6 Florida.

Alabama Results

Singles (vs. Arizona)

No. 64 Jonas Ziverts def. No. 80 Edson Ortiz, 6-3, 6-2
Zhe Zhou vs. No. 40 Filip Malbasic, 5-7, 7-6(5), 3-2, unf.
No. 125 Riccardo Roberto def. Alejandro Reguant, 6-3, 6-4
Alexey Nesterov def. Igor Karpovets, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Patrick Kaukovalta def. Carlos Hassey, 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(4)
Jeremy Gschwendtner def. Nick Lagaev, 7-6(6), 6-1

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

Doubles (vs. Arizona – Fri.)

Kaukovalta/Nesterov def. Karpovets/Ziverts, 6-4
Malbasic/Lagaev def. Ortiz/Sepulveda Garza, 7-6(5)
Reguant/Hassey def. Fischer/Zhou, 6-0

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles (vs. Ole Miss)

No. 80 Edson Ortiz def. No. 40 Tim Sandkaulen, 6-3, 6-2
Zhe Zhou def. Jan Soren Hain, 6-2,
Finn Reynolds def. No. 125 Riccardo Roberto, 6-2, 6-0
Alexey Nesterov def. Nikola Slavic, 7-6(6)
Patrick Kaukovalta def. Simon Junk, 6-3, 6-3
Lukas Engelhardt def. Jeremy Gschwendtner, 6-2, 6-3

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

Doubles (vs. Ole Miss)

No. 55 Sandkaulen/Reynolds def. Kaukovalta/Nesterov, 6-2
Soren Hain/Junk vs. Ortiz/Sepulveda Garza, 4-3, unf.
Slavic/Wilson def. Fischer/Shugar, 6-2

Order of Finish: 3, 1

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