The Alabama men’s tennis team earned its second Southeastern Conference victory of the season Sunday as it defeated the Louisiana State Tigers 6-1 at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
“It was such a great effort we displayed,” junior Daniil Proskura said. “Everyone is playing well right now and improving, which is great for us.”
With the win over LSU, the Crimson Tide moves to 11-5 on the season and 2-2 in conference play.
Sunday’s fierce wind challenged the team, but head coach George Husack said they responded well to the difficult playing conditions.
“It was unbelievably tough conditions out there,” Husack said. “I told the guys before the match not to worry about the wind and focus on what they can control, and I thought they did a good job of that.”
In the doubles portion of the match against the Tigers, Alabama won two of the three doubles matches and earned one point toward the overall team score.
Proskura and his doubles partner freshman Becker O’Shaughnessey defeated their LSU opponents 8-6. Proskura and O’Shaughnessey were winning their match 6-1 when suddenly their opponents attempted a comeback. Proskura said they lost focus a little during the match, but they regained it and closed out the match.
“We started off really well. We were up 6-1,” Proskura said. “We let it go a little bit. I thought our concentration was a little down, but then we picked up at 6-5, where we played well and then won 8-6.”
In the other doubles match, sophomores Philippe Tsangarides and Stuart Kenyon were trailing their opponents 3-1. Tsangarides and Kenyon rallied back to win seven of the next eight games and won the match 8-4.
Alabama was leading 1-0 headed into the singles portion of the match, where it only needed to win three of the six singles matches to take the overall team match. The Tide went out and won five of the six matches.
O’Shaughnessey and sophomore David Vieyra were the only ones to win in straight sets. O’Shaughnessey won his match 6-3 and 6-4. Vierya won his match 7-6 and 7-6.
Proskura and Kenyon, along with senior Jarryd Botha, all lost their first set and then came back to win their matches in three sets. Kenyon lost his first set 3-6, but then rallied to win the next two sets, managing to drop only two games in the process as he won 6-2 and 6-0.
Husack said it was great to see Proskura, Botha and Kenyon all fight back and win their matches.
“It was awesome to see them do that. It says a lot about their character,” Husack said. “Winning a match like that is a huge confidence booster for them. The win rewards them for their hard work.”
Up next for Alabama will be a match against in-state rival Auburn March 16. Husack said if the Tide continues to play hard like it had been, it will be successful
“We need to continue to be thirsty, hungry and humble,” Husack said. “The guys have to give it their all. If they give it their all, good things will happen for us.”
