Men’s tennis continues to roll in doubleheader

Alabama men’s tennis won its Sunday contests against the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to remain undefeated at 4-0. 

“THAT’S a BAMA sweep,” said the team in a tweet on Sunday after the wins. 

The cold weather and threat of rain didn’t prevent a vocal group of spectators from gathering at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility. The crowd favorite in both matches was sophomore Filip Planinsek, last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year. His name could be heard cheered throughout the day. Planinsek won both his singles matches and his doubles match. 

Alabama started out the day with an exciting doubles match against the Blazers, which came down to Enzo Aguiard and Yair Sarouk. After UAB made a comeback from being down 5-2, Aguiard and Sarouk rallied for a 7-5 victory. 

A dominant performance by Joao Ferreira and Zach Foster aided in the Crimson Tide taking the doubles point, with a 6-0 win. 

The singles were no different from the doubles, with a back-and-forth ending in a 4-2 victory for Alabama. The overall score was 5-2 in favor of the Crimson Tide. 

Chattanooga did not quite prove to be the challenge that UAB was. 

At the start of the match, the duo of German Samofalov and Yair Sarouk, paired with Joao Ferreira and Zach Foster, clinched the doubles point for Alabama. The singles ended in a sweep. 

When all was said and done, the Crimson Tide won 7-0 to end the doubleheader, preserving an unblemished record. 

The most interesting thing about the Crimson Tide’s match with the Mocs was Alabama’s German Samofalov vs Ryan Mudre of Chattanooga. It was a three-set battle and the last one of the day. The crowd and players gathered to their side of the court and watched emotions run wild. Chants, cheers and frustrated exclamations went on until Samofalov ended the day with a win for the Crimson Tide. 

Alabama is set to host the Michigan State University Spartans on Jan. 28 in their fifth consecutive home contest. 

The men’s tennis team could not be reached for comment after the matches.