The Alabama men’s tennis team fell Sunday afternoon, 5-2, to the Arkansas Razorbacks at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. With the loss, Alabama’s record drops to 6-8 overall, while the Razorbacks improve to 6-6.
“Another weekend of growth and experience for our young guys,” said head coach George Husack in a press release. “They are giving it their all and the results will come. I believe in them and they must continue to believe in themselves. There is a lot left in our season so keeping the faith and continuing to work hard are top priorities.”
To gain the first doubles point, Arkansas’ doubles pair Adam Sanjurjo and Oscar Mesquida were able to defeat freshmen pair Alexey Nesterov and Edson Ortiz, 6-1. Over on court three, the Crimson Tide would respond with a 7-5 win thanks to Thibault Cancel and Zhe Zhou outlasting Johan den Toom and Branch Terrell.
Now that the two teams were tied with one doubles point apiece, a clash was set up to decide who would take the crucial doubles point. The final match would feature a consistent high level of play between Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar of Arkansas and Mazen Osama and Spencer Richey. In the end, it would be the Arkansas pair that would take the doubles point to give the Razorbacks the early advantage in a 7-5 victory.
Arkansas’ No. 5 singles player Redlicki was able to overcome Alabama’s No. 62 singles player Osama in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, to snatch the first point in singles play. It was then, shortly after Salazar went on to extend Razorbacks match lead to 3-0, as he defeated Cancel also in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2. Den Toom overcame Nesterov in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, to clinch the Arkansas match victory just as Zhou won a three-set thriller over Juan Marino, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, to give Alabama its first match point of the day. Richey fell short to Mesquida in a match that was decided in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, before Ortiz topped Sanjurjo in a three set victory, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, resulting in the final match score.
Alabama will be back in action on Thursday, March 9, when it travels to Starkville, Miss., to take on the Bulldogs of Mississippi State in a match that is set to start at 3 p.m. CT.
