Alabama
NCAA Singles Quarterfinals
History Made! No. 29 Filip Planinsek Becomes First Alabama Singles Player to Reach Semifinals with Victory over No. 15 Cooper Williams
5/23/2024 2:12:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Planinsek battled to win the quarterfinal match in three sets to extend his historic run into the semifinals
STILLWATER, Okla. –– Filip Planinsek made history Thursday becoming the first Alabama men's tennis player in program history to reach the semifinals at the NCAA Singles Championships. No. 29 Planinsek used an exciting three-set victory to top No. 15-ranked Cooper Williams of Harvard, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, and advance into the top four.
??Semifinals??
— Alabama Men's Tennis (@AlabamaMTN) May 23, 2024
Filip Planinsek Advances to the NCAA Singles Championship Semifinals with a three-set victory?#RollTide pic.twitter.com/8B6l9PpDzY
Planinsek's advancement marks the first time UA has had a player reach the semifinals at the NCAA Singles Championships as the Crimson Tide junior improves to 25-13 on the year. The All-American made history prior to Thursday's match, joining Mazen Osama as the only two players in program history to reach both the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals in the singles tournament.
The victory was the third consecutive win over a top-20 ranked singles player as Planinsek downed No. 17 Cannon Kingsley (Ohio State) in the Round of 32 and No. 5 Micah Braswell (Texas) in the Round of 16 prior to his quarterfinal victory against No. 15 Williams.
The Match
- A quick start gave Planinsek a 3-0 lead over the Harvard freshman in the opening set
- Williams would battle back to tie the set at 4-4, but back-to-back wins from Planinsek sealed the 6-4 victory
- Momentum shifted at the start of set two as Williams won four-straight games
- Despite winning the fifth game, Williams secured a 6-1 victory in the second set to force a third round
- Planinsek recorded his first break in the third set in game three to take a 2-1 lead before extending his advantage to 3-1
- The two would stay on serve for the remainder of the match
- Planinsek clinched the overall win with four-consecutive points in the final game for a 6-4 victory
Next
- Planinsek will face Michigan State sophomore Ozan Baris
- Baris ranks ninth nationally in singles and holds a 32-6 record in singles play this season
- The start time for the semifinal match is set for 10 a.m. CT on Friday
Get all the latest information on the team by following AlabamaMTN on X, Instagram and Facebook.
-UA-
Players Mentioned
