No. 31 Alabama Men’s Tennis Grinds Out Win Over No. 35 Middle Tennessee State, 4-3

Friday, March 19

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

4 p.m. CT

Alabama

Middle Tennessee

2/13/21 MTE Tennessee TechAlabama's Jeremy GschwendtnerPhoto by David Gray

No. 31 Alabama Men’s Tennis Grinds Out Win Over No. 35 Middle Tennessee State, 4-3

3/19/2021 9:48:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

The Crimson Tide won the last three singles matches to come out with the win

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's tennis team battled from the start to finish against Middle Tenness State Friday night under the lights at the Alabama Tennis Stadium to take a 4-3 over the Blue Raiders.

After the Crimson Tide gave up the doubles point, Riccardo Roberto tied the match, picking up a victory at No. 4 singles. The Blue Raiders won the next two singles matches at No. 3 and No. 6. With the score sitting at 3-1, veterans Edson Ortiz and Zhe Zhou gutted out wins at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. The match then came down to court five, where Jeremy Gschwendtner split the first two sets before winning the decider in a tough 7-5 set.

With the win, Alabama goes to 11-7 on the season, while Middle Tennessee State drops to 11-5.

Head Coach George Husack Said

"Great effort and finish tonight for our team. Guys stepped up big time - Marcelo in doubles filling in for a sick Patrick (Kaukovalta), Riccardo's leadership in doubles with Marcelo and keeping the mojo in singles after being on the short end the last couple of weekends. Zhe's perseverance and trust in himself and his ability, Edson embracing his move to No. 1 singles and playing aggressively from start to finish, and Jeremy, after several weeks of rehabbing a bad ankle injury, soaking up the moment and clinching the victory in his return. As a coach, that's a lot to be proud of and why college tennis/athletics is so exciting. There's more work to be done tomorrow to prepare for another battle and opportunity on Sunday."

No. 31 Alabama 4, No. 35 Middle Tennessee State 3

Singles

No. 1 Edson Ortiz (UA) def. Francisco Rocha (MT) 6-4, 6-6 (7-5)
No. 2 Zhe Zhou (UA) def. Tom Moonen (MT) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 Stijn Slump (MT) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire (UA) 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 Riccardo Roberto (UA) def. Chris Edge (MT) 6-2, 7-5
No. 5 Jeremy Gschwendtner (UA) def. Pavel Motl (MT) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
No. 6 Max Rauch (MT) def. Alexey Nesterov (UA) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3

Doubles

No. 1 Stijn Slump/Pavel Motl (MT) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire/Zhe Zhou (UA) 7-5
No. 2 Tom Moonen/Chris Edge (MT) def. Alexey Nesterov/Edson Ortiz (UA) 6-2
No. 3 Marcelo Sepulveda/Riccardo Roberto (UA) def. Max Rauch/Francisco Rocha (MT) 6-2

Up Next

The Tide will face Memphis Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
Due to health and safety considerations in addition to the current guidelines, attendance at Alabama tennis home competitions is on a first-come, first-served basis until reaching capacity if the matches are played outdoors
Facial coverings must be worn at all times unless eating or drinking
If matches are played indoors, there will be no spectators allowed

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