The Alabama men’s tennis team started Southeastern Conference play this past weekend and lost its first two conference matches.
The No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Crimson Tide 4-3. Alabama then lost to the No. 10 Mississippi State Bulldogs 4-2 Sunday.
“We had two very exciting matches,” head coach George Husack said. “The teams that we lost to have been playing at a high level for much longer than we have. For us to compete the way we did in these matches there is a lot to leave with.”
In the Mississippi State match, the Tide won two of its three doubles matches. Winning the majority of the doubles matches gave the Tide a 1-0 lead headed into the singles portion of the match.
Alabama’s top doubles team is made up of senior Jarryd Botha and David Vieyra. Botha and Vieyra defeated their opponents from Mississippi State 8-5.
Junior Daniil Proskura and freshman Becker O’Shaughnessey are the Tide’s second doubles team and beat their Mississippi State opponents 8-6.
“It was a huge doubles point today,” Botha said. “We came out with lots of energy and lots of focus and we really took it to them and played a really good doubles point.”
Alabama only needed to win three of the six singles matches to the overall team match. The Tide lost the first three singles matches and trailed the Bulldogs 3-1. Alabama made a late surge but fell short losing to Mississippi State 4-2.
Botha was the only one able to win in singles as he won in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
“I thought it was a good match for me,” Botha said. “I started off really well, there were a few ups and downs in the second set but eventually I maintained focus and kept on playing to my best efforts and came out with a win.”
The late comeback by the Tide was led by Vieyra, who lost his first set but then came back and won his second to force a third set. The overall match came down to Vieyra’s match. In the third set Vieyra was tied with his opponent and went into a tiebreaker where he fell short losing 7-5 in the tiebreaker.
O’Shaughnessey came back in his match, too. He lost his first set, won his second set but because Vieyra lost, the match was stopped in the third set, clinching the Bulldogs’ win.
“I was impressed in the way they responded late in singles,” Husack said. “We were getting our butts kicked early and we turned it around late.”
The Tide’s next match is on the road against the Arkansas Razorbacks March 8. Botha said that if the team continues to compete and fight until the end like it did in its last two matches, it will be successful.
“It shows in our results that we are getting really close to big wins,” Botha said. “I think we’ve got to carry on that mentality on to the court, and I think we’ve got a great future ahead of us.”
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