Net News, Volume 1

Happy New Year from Alabama men's tennis. After a successful semester of development during the fall, our program will open the 2026 spring campaign this Sunday, January 18 at 11 a.m. versus Furman and 4 p.m. versus Tennessee Tech indoors at the R.A.B. (Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Tennis Facility). Here's a short review of the program since we began the academic year back in August.

Sam De Vries joined the men's staff as a graduate assistant coach, replacing Sebastian "Sebo" Vile who accepted an assistant coaching position at Yale University under the direction of head coach and former Alabama assistant, Lalo Ugalde. Sam is from Irvine, Calif., and graduated in May 2025 from UC Davis where he was a singles and doubles starter, as well as team captain for the Aggie tennis program. Sam has jumped into the deep end of coaching and doing an excellent job with the team on and off the court while also earning his Master's degree in sport management.
Kyle King began his one-year athletic training fellowship under the watchful guidance of our veteran Katie Meek (Wheeler). Kyle filled the vacancy of Erika Holle, who joined the athletic training staff at Central Connecticut State University. Kyle is from Southern California and spent last year at Duke covering football and baseball. Prior to his stint in Durham, Kyle worked with football and tennis at Penn State where he earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He will work exclusively with men's tennis and assist Mama Meek (yes Mama) as Katie and her husband Jeff welcomed baby Lucy in late November.
Vit Kalina (Czech Republic) and Jacob Olar (Florida) joined the men's team in August as freshmen. The pair spent several years competing on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior circuit and traveled the world to a variety of events. Vit reached a career-high of No. 56 in the ITF world rankings and captured a doubles title with current teammate Matic Kriznik at the Wimbledon tune-up tournament, the Roehampton Championships. Jacob began his full-time tennis training at the IMG Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fla., before working privately with former top-40 American pro, Ryan Harrison. Jacob reached an ITF world ranking high of No. 98. Both guys are living together on campus at one of the apartments along with one of our January freshman (see Rohan below).
Matic Kriznik (sophomore, Slovenia) qualified for the NCAA singles championships, which were held last November in Orlando, Fla., at the USTA National Campus. This marked the third consecutive year that Alabama men's tennis was represented at the event. Matic had a successful fall tournament season, qualifying for nationals with a semifinal finish at the ITA Southern Regional Championships and reached the quarterfinals of the ITA Sectional Championships. Matic will begin the 2026 spring season ranked No. 27 in the ITA national singles rankings.
Andrii Zimnokh (junior, Ukraine) and Jacob Olar reached the doubles finals at the ITA Southern Regional Championships. The pair dropped a heartbreaking three-set match to Ole Miss, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8), but responded with a solid showing at the ITA Sectional Championships. The new fire and ice combo will begin the 2026 campaign ranked No. 12 in the ITA national doubles rankings.
Our young squad recorded a 3.80 GPA during the fall semester, highlighted by Brendan Loh's perfect 4.0. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! All six players earned Dean's List recognition (3.5 gpa or higher). A great start for the team as getting organized in the classroom has an indelible impact with their tennis.
Senior Damien Nezar (Eden, South Africa) graduated with cum laude honors and a business degree last December 13. His parents, Allison and Trevor, clapped proudly in Coleman Coliseum as Damien's name was read and he walked across the stage to shake hands with Alabama president Dr. Peter J. Mohler. Shortly after graduation, Damien accepted a head teaching pro position at Indian Hills Country Club, under the leadership of new director of tennis, Val Goncalves, who accepted the opportunity to fill the shoes of the legendary Keith Swindoll. Happy to have Damien stay in Tuscaloosa and impact our youth tennis development as well as work at such a tremendous club that Coach Keith poured his heart and soul into over the years. He's enjoying life as a Bama graduate and will be around the team as much as he can this semester.
The men's team welcomed three new members to their roster this month:
- Rohan Hazratwala (Townsville, Australia) arrived on New Year's Eve, a month after graduating from Brisbane Boys College, where he was coached by Ethan Wilkinson (2013 Miss State graduate) and former top-30 ATP pro John Millman. Rohan competed primarily in Australia and Asia as a junior reaching an ITF world ranking high of No. 113.
- Yoshka Sborowsky (Lyon, France) visited Tuscaloosa in early November with his father Syrus who lived in San Francisco for many years and studied at Stanford University. Yoshka graduated from high school in 2024 and began college studies at CNED University before deciding to transfer to an American university. He chose Alabama over Nebraska and Texas Tech. Yoshka was regarded as one of the top French junior players as a young teen. After a couple of injuries sidelined him for more than a year, he returned to the courts and has competed professionally in ITF Future and Challenger tournaments over the past 18 months.
- Gray Voelzke (Richmond, Virginia) is a graduate transfer student who brings a big serving and attacking game to Tuscaloosa. He spent his undergraduate years competing at VCU prior to Dimi Kutrovsky's head coaching career there. Gray spent the last 18 months competing professionally while also earning a Master's certificate in business from VCU. He captured a doubles title at the La Paz $15k in November after reaching the semifinals at the Manzanillo $25k and quarterfinals of the Guadalajara $25k. He will pursue a Master's degree in sport management while at the Capstone.
Vit, Jacob, Matic, Andrii, Rohan, Yoshka and Gray join redshirt freshman Brendan Loh (Adelaide, Australia) and senior Carlos Gimenez Perez (Alicante, Spain) for an exciting season ahead. The squad is young, talented, eager, charismatic, gritty and fun to be around. Great character and simply said, solid. We enjoyed spending time together during the fall semester and just completed a terrific first week and a half of training on court and in the gym.
You can join our booster club, the Crimson Racket Club or CRC, by going to www.crimsonracketclub.org. You'll receive a Bama tennis gift (nice looking water bottle), invitations to CRC only events with men's and women's tennis, have exclusive courtside seating indoors and outdoors, and have access to the hospitality area at all men's and women's home matches. It's a fun way to get to know the players on a personal level and for our players to understand the significant support that is given annually to our tennis program.

Join us this Sunday for opening day at 11 a.m. or 4 p.m. The Crimson Racket Club (CRC) will provide a free bottled water and fresh made popcorn (a Bama Tennis tradition) while Alabama's University Programs department will have special giveaways for fans. Donuts will be served for the 11 a.m. match too. I look forward to seeing familiar and new faces in the crowd and hearing plenty of "Point Bama's" throughout the day.

Roll Tide!

George

University of Alabama Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Carlos Gimenez Perez

Rohan Hazratwala

Vit Kalina

Matic Kriznik

Brendan Loh

Damien Nezar

Jacob Olar

Yoshka Sborowsky

Gray Voelzke

Andrii Zimnokh

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