Sunday, 10/11/2009

Crimson Tide wins seven of 10 matches on the day

 

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Alabama men’s tennis team had a solid start to the 2009 Harvard Fall Classic winning seven of 10 matches against opponents from Minnesota on Friday. Four of the victories came in singles, while the remaining three were picked up in doubles competition.

 

"I was extremely pleased with our effort and execution today considering we haven't played a lot of tennis yet this fall,” said head coach Billy Pate. “We did a good job of starting out with energy and focus, and that helped us get off to a positive start with the doubles matches."

 

The Crimson Tide kicked off the morning with three doubles matches that led to a trio of victories off the bat. Sophomores Ricky Doverspike and Michael Thompson cruised to an 8-2 win over Minnesota junior Derek Peterson and sophomore Julian Dehn, while senior Houssam Yassine and redshirt freshman Michael Davis outlasted the Gopher pair of sophomores Michael Sicora and Phil Arndt 9-7. Finally, junior Trey Walston and sophomore Creighton Blanchard roped in an 8-6 victory over Minnesota freshman Brendan Ruddock and senior Dino Bilankov.

 

In singles, Davis, Doverspike and Yassine each won in straight sets. Davis had an easy 6-2, 6-2 win over Bilankov, and Doverspike picked up the 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sicora. Yassine edged Ruddock in a first set tiebreaker, but easily took the second set 6-2. Also earning a win for Alabama was Thompson, who after dropping the first set 6-4, came back to win a pair of 7-5 sets to take the match victory.

 

The remaining three matches resulted in losses for the Tide with both Walston and freshman Harris Barnard falling in three sets. Walston edged Arndt 7-6 in the first set, but the Gopher netter came back to take the next two sets 6-4, 6-0. After dropping his first set in a tiebreaker, Barnard came back to take the second 6-3 before losing the super tiebreaker 10-4 to sophomore Eddie Svenda. Also competing in singles on the day was Blanchard who fell 6-3, 6-4 to sophomore Jonathan Hadash.

 

Alabama returns to the courts Saturday at 8:30 a.m. (CST). All action is taking place at the Beren Tennis Center.

 

RESULTS

Doubles

Doverspike/Thompson (UA) def. Dehn/Peterson (UM) 8-2

Davis/Yassine (UA) vs. Sicora/Arndt (UM) 9-7

Walston/Blanchard (UA) vs. Ruddock/Bilankov (UM) 8-6

 

Singles

Michael Davis (UA) def. Dino Bilankov (UM) 6-2, 6-2

Ricky Doverspike (UA) def. Michael Sicora (UM) 6-3, 6-4

Michael Thompson (UA) def. Julian Dehn (UM) 4-6, 7-5, 7-5

Houssam Yassine (UA) def. Brendan Ruddock (UM) 7-6, 6-2

Phil Arndt (UM) def. Trey Walston (UA) 6-7, 6-4, 6-0

Jonathan Hadash (UM) def. Creighton Blanchard (UA) 6-3, 6-4

Eddie Svenda (UM) def. Harris Barnard (UA) 7-6, 3-6, 1-0(4)