Alabama men’s tennis won all three of its matches over the weekend and moved to 6-1 to start its spring season.
Following a 4-1 loss to No. 5 Virginia on Jan. 26, the Crimson Tide returned to action at home and faced off against Tulsa, Middle Tennessee State and Alabama A&M.
Match 1: Alabama 4, Tulsa 0
Tulsa started off the match winning the first doubles matchup of the day.
Juniors Roan Jones and Matias Ponce De Leon fell to sophomore Gus Tettamble and junior Luis Felipe Miguel of Tulsa 6-2, but then Alabama came storming back. Senior Damien Nezar and sophomore Andrii Zimnokh evened up the score in doubles with a 6-3 victory over sophomore Alex Okonkwo and junior Timothy Seger. Senior Zach Foster and junior UAB transfer Carlos Gimenez Perez took the final doubles matchup over freshman Calum Jestin and junior Will Pellegrini to give Alabama a 1-0 lead.
“It was great to have Zach and Carlos back on the court and eating up the opportunity to compete,” Alabama head coach George Husack said.
In singles, the Crimson Tide rolled over the Golden Hurricane.
Foster took down Tettamble in two sets (6-3, 6-4) in a tightly contested match that gave Alabama its second point. Nezar extended the Alabama lead to 3-0 after running away from junior Reiya Komagata in two sets (6-3, 6-1). In the third singles match, Zimnokh shut the door on Tulsa by beating Seger in two sets (6-4, 6-2).
The other three singles matches went unfinished because Alabama secured the match-clinching point and earned a 4-0 victory.
“Impressive performance tonight by the guys — aggressive and relentless,” Husack said. “Andrii delivered punches time and time again. I’m proud of their effort, and they will be ready to go on Sunday.”
Match 2: Alabama 4, Middle Tennessee State 2
Following up on what Husack said after Friday’s matchup, Alabama came into Sunday ready to roll for two matches. In the first match of the day Alabama faced off against Middle Tennessee State.
The Crimson Tide swept through doubles, winning both matchups. Foster and Perez took down junior Shu Matsuoka and sophomore Jakub Kroslak of MTSU 6-4. Zimnokh and Nezar followed suit with a 6-4 victory over juniors Ondrej Horak and Karim Al-Amin, giving Alabama the first point of the match.
In singles, the Blue Raiders competed hard with the Crimson Tide, but Alabama was too much to handle in the end.
Zimnokh got his second singles win of the weekend, dominating Matsuoka in two sets (6-0, 6-2). Horak kept MTSU in the match with his two-set victory over Perez (6-2, 6-1).
Jones pushed Alabama’s lead back up to two with a hard fought win over Karim Al-Amin in two sets (7-5, 6-2). MTSU did not back down, however, as freshman Kacper Szymkowiak defeated Nezar in a closely contested two sets (6-4, 7-6).
“Roan has had some incomplete matches the last few times out on the court and was determined to contribute to the team score today. His effort was more than commendable again as he filled the top spot,” Husack said.
Ponce De Leon fell in his first set against Kroslak 3-6, but the singles match was far from over. In the final two sets, Ponce De Leon tied the match at one set and then pulled away from Kroslak in the final set, giving Alabama the fourth and final point of the match in a 4-2 win (3-6, 6-0, 6-2).
“MTSU is a five-time consecutive Conference USA champion and used to winning. To step in the ring with them requires some stamina and inner belief,” Husack said.
Match 3: Alabama 4, Alabama A&M 0
The Crimson Tide closed out the weekend against the Bulldogs in sweeping fashion, both in doubles and in singles.
Foster and Perez started out doubles, shutting out senior Freddie Lawrence and junior Lebogang Mashego 6-0. Zimnokh and Nezar grabbed the first point of the match with their 6-2 victory over junior Arnav Pathange and sophomore Goran Krivokapic.
In singles, Alabama overwhelmed Alabama A&M.
Perez shut out Mashego in a two-set victory to give Alabama a 2-0 lead (6-0, 6-0). Jones gave Alabama its third point, defeating sophomore Kai Cowcher in two sets (6-0, 6-2).
Ponce De Leon then shut the door once again with a win over junior Yin Chih Lan in two sets (6-1, 6-1). Ponce De Leon’s singles win gave Alabama its fourth point and secured the team’s third consecutive victory.
“Andrii was lights out in doubles, and there is a reason why Matias is known as ‘The Beast’,” Husack said. “Great stuff across the board. Doubles was solid, so our practices are leading to improvement in each match.”
Next, Alabama will close out non-conference play in Tallahassee when the team visits Florida State at noon CT on Saturday.
