Men's Tennis Falls At Alabama In Spring Opener

Saturday, January 20

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

1:00 PM (CT)

Samford University

Alabama

Box Score (PDF)

1.20.18 | Men's Tennis

BOX SCORE (PDF)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Samford men's tennis team dropped a 7-0 decision at Alabama in the team's spring season opener Saturday at UA's Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Center.

"I thought we did a lot of good things today, and there are definitely positives to take out of the match," Samford head coach Rahim Esmail said. "We played a great doubles and were in control on courts 1 and 3. Alabama got themselves back in the match at No. 1 doubles, not because we let them, but because of a few key points. That was the difference."

In doubles, Samford took the win on the No. 3 court, with Max Rebol and Justin Ghavami defeating Patrick Kaukovalta and Grant Stuckey, 6-3. Alabama earned a 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles and a 6-2 victory on the No. 2 doubles court.

"Alabama looked good overall in the singles and that's a tough match for us to start with, but it gets us ready for our upcoming matches and gives us a good idea of the things we need to do better," Esmail said. "We have a lot of work to do, but we are looking forward to getting out there and competing again tomorrow."

In singles, Alabama claimed wins on all six courts, with all six coming in straight sets.

Samford will host Kennesaw State Sunday. The match is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at the Samford Tennis Center.

Alabama 7, Samford 0
SINGLES
1. Mazen Osama (UA) def. Jake Faundez (SAM-M) 6-2, 6-3 2.
2. Thibault Cancel (UA) def. Justin Ghavami (SAM-M) 6-3, 6-0
3. Zhe Zhou (UA) def. Eduardo Lourido (SAM-M) 6-1, 6-2
4. Edson Ortiz (UA) def. Rossouw Norval (SAM-M) 6-3, 6-4
5. Alexey Nesterov (UA) def. Aleksandar Petrovic (SAM-M) 6-3, 6-1
6. Grant Stuckey (UA) def. Max Rebol (SAM-M) 6-3, 6-2

DOUBLES
1. Edson Ortiz/Mazen Osama (UA) def. Jake Faundez/Eduardo Lourido (SAM-M) 6-4
2. Thibault Cancel/Alexey Nesterov (UA) def. Rossouw Norval/Aleksandar Petrovic (SAM-M) 6-2
3. Max Rebol/Justin Ghavami (SAM-M) def. Patrick Kaukovalta/Grant Stuckey (UA) 6-3