The Alabama men’s tennis team got things going in 2011 at the annual SEC Indoors Tournament held in Knoxville, Tenn. The Crimson Tide was represented well in the competition by senior Trey Walston, sophomore Ian Chadwell and freshmen Daniil Proskura and Carlos Taborga.
Perhaps the highlight of the competition was the competitive character of Alabama’s Proskura and Chadwell. On the first day of competition, Proskura and Chadwell fell in doubles to Mississippi senior Tucker Vorster and sophomore Jonas Lutjen, 5-8. Proskura fell in singles competition to Mississippi State junior Artem Ilyushin, 2-6, 1-6. The young pair didn’t let the first-day failures set the mood for the rest of the competition.
The second day told a different story for the Tide pair as they rebounded nicely with a couple of wins in doubles against Tennessee junior Bryan Swartz and sophomore Taylor Patrick, winning 8-4. Proskura and Chadwell also had a dominant win over Florida sophomore Billy Federhofer and freshman Andrew Butz later that day, 8-1.
On the final day of competition, Proskura defeated Mississippi State sophomore James Chaudry in the singles consolation round of 16, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0. Proskura had one more match later in the day, but fell short of victory, losing to Tennessee senior Boris Conkic, 3-6, 3-6.
Proskura and Chadwell fell in doubles to LSU senior Sebastian Carlsson and junior Neal Skupsk, 4-8. Although the weekend had its ups and downs for the squad, it provided much needed experience against great competition.
“The SEC is at its best, and this is probably the best competition I have seen in my nine years of coaching here,” head coach Billy Pate said.
The youthfulness and spirit Proskura and Chadwell offer the University is very valuable to the team.
“Daniil is fresh off the boat, he’s only been here two weeks, and he is very raw,” Pate said. “Daniil is going to be very good for us. Ian had a tough time getting back to 100 percent after his injury. We haven’t seen his best yet this year, but it’s coming as he continues to play. Both guys are very valuable to our team.”
Though he has spent only two weeks on campus, Proskura is meshing well into the men’s tennis team and getting acclimated to his new teammates and surroundings.
“Daniil’s learning curve is very strong,” Pate said. “He adapts well, is inquisitive, and is getting very comfortable as time goes on. He is strong academically and is proactive in all arenas.”
Next on the Crimson Tide’s slate is traveling to Boca Raton, Fla., to take on the USTA Boys National Team today. As the season continues, Pate is stressing to the team to take everything as it comes.
“We have to take everything one step at a time, and it continues this weekend,” he said. “We hope for success and we will move from there.”
