Monday, for the first time since 1989, the Alabama men’s tennis team faced off against USC, but the outcome was not a memorable one for the Crimson Tide. Alabama fell to the No. 4 Trojans 5-0 and saw its record drop to 9-9 on the season.

A competitive fight for the doubles point opened the match, with an 8-2 win on court three, giving the Trojans the lead in the hunt for the doubles point.

On court one, the Crimson Tide opened the match with strong serves. After breaking USC, Alabama advanced to a 4-2 lead, but the Trojans would break as well, eventually sealing the doubles point with an 8-6 win.

(See also “Men’s tennis team recalibrates for SEC“)

Alabama assistant coach Ryler Dehart said, despite losing the doubles point, the matches were a good sign for the team.

“I thought we were right there,” Dehart said. “We just didn’t convert. I think we realize that we are playing a top-five in the nation team, but we could compete with them and weren’t far away from being able to beat them.”

A slight change in line-up opened the singles matches, with Donohue for Alabama and Max de Vroome for USC both out for their scheduled matches. For Alabama, freshman Hayes Brewer moved up to line five with junior Andrew Goodwin taking court six.

After USC won the first set on all other courts, senior Daniil Proskura continued to battle for the first set on court one. Trojan player Yannick Hanfmann eventually edged Proskura, winning the first set 7-5. The second set of the match was suspended after USC victories on courts four, five and two consecutively secured the win for the Trojans.

(See also “Alabama men’s tennis seeks to improve record“)

Proskura said although it is hard to reflect positively on a loss, the matches showed the team what potential it has going forward.

“They’re a top-10 team in the nation, and I feel like we could compete with them,” Proskura said. “I had a couple points where I didn’t capitalize, but the bottom line is [Hanfmann] one of the best players in the nation, and I felt like I was right there with him.”

Dehart said he hopes the team learned its true potential from competitive matches against a top-caliber opponent.

“I hope they learned that they’re not far away from that level,” Dehart said. “The effort of our team is very strong, but it’s not always about how hard you try, but how much you believe.”

Alabama will return to the court over spring break in a series of road matches, facing South Carolina on Friday and Florida on Sunday.

Even with wins and losses on the season, Proskura said going forward, the season is all about choices.

“As a team, we need to make a choice on what we want out of the season,” Proskura said. “It’s like starting the season over. Starting next week reflects who we are and who we are as a team.”

(See also “Tide men’s tennis team splits weekend doubleheader“)