Alabama men’s tennis (7-2) faced off two top Big Ten teams this weekend, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (5-2) and Northwestern University (6-3), winning against Wisconsin, but losing to Northwestern.  

The Crimson Tide started Friday, Feb. 10, out with a fierce battle in doubles match against Wisconsin, with a packed house cheering. Despite its strong front, Alabama did not win the doubles point.  

After a defeat in doubles against Wisconsin, the Crimson Tide stood strong and took hold of its singles and secured three consecutive wins. Those wins tied the match 3-3, with big moments from sophomore Enzo Aguiard and freshman Yair Sarouk.  

“We wanted to bounce back after last week, we didn’t put in a good enough performance, so we wanted to mentally bounce back as a team,” Aguiard said.  

Yair Sarouk had a big moment for the Crimson Tide and claimed the deciding point in a three-set match, making the score 4-3.  

“The entire team came to me after the last point, I didn’t know what to do. It was amazing,” Sarouk said.  

The Crimson Tide started Sunday, Feb. 12, off much like Friday, with a defeat in the doubles match, giving Northwestern the doubles point, and moving the Wildcats to first on the board.  

Sophomore Filip Planinsek, and sophomore Zach Foster gave Alabama the momentum it needed and had some incredible singles matches, winning two out of the three sets and putting Alabama on the board for the first time during the day. 

Sophomore German Samofalov had an intense battle in his singles match going all three sets, hopeful to put the Crimson Tide on top, but it ultimately wasn’t enough, resulting in the final score of 4-2 in favor of Northwestern.  

Next up, Alabama will face East Tennessee State University on Friday, Feb. 17,th at 4 p.m. CT in Tuscaloosa.  

Questions or comments? Email Blake Byler (Sports Editor) at [email protected]