Alabama Men’s Tennis Closes MSU Bulldog Invitational

Sunday, October 3

Starkville, Miss.

Alabama

Bulldog Invitational

Photo by: Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

Alabama Men’s Tennis Closes MSU Bulldog Invitational

10/3/2021 6:35:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

The Crimson Tide captured four doubles and eight singles wins over the three-day tournament

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Alabama men's tennis team closed the MSU Bulldog Invitational at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville, Miss., Sunday. The Crimson Tide picked up two doubles and two singles wins as the team concluded the three-day competition.

Patrick Kaukovalta and Juan Martin cruised to a 6-4 win to open the day against Mississippi State's Nemanja Malesevic and Davide Tortora. Rudi Christiansen and Joao Ferreira followed, posting a dominating 6-3 win against the Bulldogs' Alberto Colas and Carles Hernandez. It was the second doubles win of the weekend for Christiansen, Kaukovalta and Martin as the pairing of Christiansen and Martin posted a 6-2 win against Michigan's Ryan Fu and Patorn Hanchaikul on Friday and Kaukovalta and Filip Planinsek posted a 6-3 win against Tulane's Benji Jacobson and Billy Suarez on Saturday.

Martin picked up his second win in singles, battling against Mississippi State's Carles Hernandez. After dropping the first set 6-4, Martin fought his way back to take the second set with a 6-3 decision. In a contested third set, Martin edged Hernandez 7-6(6) for the win. The UA graduate student defeated Ryan Fu from Michigan earlier in the tournament, going 6-1, 6-0 for the singles win.

Ferreira also claimed a three-set win on the final day of competition. Ferreira posted a 7-5 win in the opening set but fell 6-3 in set two. The UA sophomore rebounded to take a decisive 6-1 win to defeat the Bulldog's Alberto Colas.

From Head Coach George Husack

"A competitive weekend overall and proud of the way the guys managed the home crowd today. We cannot measure our efforts, however, against our conference opponent, but rather our performances on Friday and Saturday. It's easy to have the focus and drive when you play someone from the SEC. That's normal and natural. The challenge is how willing we are to collectively suffer and outcompete the teams that are out of conference. We have plenty of room to build and more time to develop. Regionals will be another good opportunity for us to grow."

The Crimson Tide will return to action on Oct. 14 as members of the team compete at the ITA Fall Regional Championships in Auburn Ala.

Doubles

#6 Florian Broska/ Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Enzo Aguiard/Filip Planinsek (UA) 6-1
Patrick Kaukovalta/Juan Martin (UA) def. Nemanja Malesevic/Davide Tortora (MSU) 6-4
Rudi Christiansen/Joao Ferreira (UA) def. Alberto Colas/Carles Hernandez (MSU) 6-3

Singles

#27 Florian Broska (MSU) def. Filip Planinsek (UA) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4)
#36 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) def. Enzo Aguiard (UA) 6-3, 7-5
Juan Martin (UA) def. Carles Hernandez (MSU) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6)
Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Patrick Kaukovalta (UA) 7-5, 7-6(2)
Joao Ferreira (UA) def. #92 Alberto Colas (MSU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
#54 Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Rudi Christiansen (UA) 6-4, 6-4

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