The SEC opener had been the kryptonite for No. 20 Alabama, having lost their past 3, but they prevailed against No. 18 LSU, 5-2.

“Overall, LSU is very tough,” coach George Husack said. “They are like a gutter dripping after a rain storm. You can let it annoy you or you can put your head down and go to sleep. We got after it and finished strong.”

In the doubles point, Alabama struck early despite court No. 3 falling 6-2. The duo of senior Mazen Osama and junior Patrick Kaukovalta were broken early in the match and went down 0-3 to begin. Even with the slow start, they preceded to win the six of the last seven games to defeat LSU’s 45^th nationally-ranked doubles pair, 6-4.

In a similar situation, junior Alexey Nesterov and Thibault Cancel were down a serve, 1-2, but broke LSU’s service and then went on to win the match, 6-3 by winning three of the last four games.

“Doubles was a little up and down, but we prevailed and came up with two big victories,” Husack said.

The Crimson Tide used the momentum from doubles into singles to continue their strong play. In the six singles matches, they won the first set in five of the six matches including, No. 40 Osama dominating LSU’s number one player with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

When the second sets began, the momentum shifted toward LSU by breaking serves on three courts. On court No. 2, junior Edson Ortiz found himself down 2-5 in the second set after winning the first set 6-2. Ortiz fought his way back in the match by winning multiple deuce points and won the five straight games to put the Crimson Tide up 3-0.

“I got distracted in the second set,” Ortiz said. “I gave him some free points and that’s why he went up 5-2. I realized that I need to come back to my court and handle my business.”

Junior Riccardo Roberto was a late addition to the singles lineup but did not disappoint by clinching the match with a 7-6, 6-3 victory.

“I was in [a clinching position] during the SEC Tournament last year and lost the match,” Roberto said. “I knew today was an important match and it was the first time we had won the first SEC match in three or four years. I had a little pressure, but I came out of the match with a big win.”

Alabama will return to action on Sunday at 12 P.M. against Texas A&M at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.