NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 17 Alabama men’s team earned its first Southeastern Conference road match victory at Vanderbilt, 5-2, on Sunday at the Currey Tennis Center. The Crimson Tide moves up to 12-4 overall and 2-2 in SEC play, while the 26th-ranked Commodores fall to 12-5 and 2-3 in the conference.
The Commodores secured the first doubles match. Alexey Nesterov and Riccardo Roberto picked up a 6-4 win over Maxwell Freeman and Christiaan Worst, while the No. 17-ranked doubles pair Mazen Osama and Patrick Kaukovalta defeated Cam Klinger and Billy Rowe, 6-4.
In singles, Jeremy Gschwendtner achieved a straight-set victory over Marcus Ferreira, 6-0, 6-1. Vanderbilt’s Rowe defeated junior Zhe Zhou, 6-3, 6-4, and Kaukovalta fell to Macsen Sisam 6-1, 5-7, 6-3, to tie the score at 2-2.
Edson Ortiz wrapped up a three-set victory over George Harwell, dominating in the third set to earn a 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 win.
After falling short in the first set, 3-6, against Panu Virtanen, Roberto earned a 7-6 comeback in the second set. Roberto defeated Virtanen 6-2 in the third set.
Once Alabama secured the victory, the teams agreed to complete all six singles matchups. No. 36 Osama defeated Klinger 5-7, 7-6, 7-5 to give the Tide a 5-2 advantage.
The Crimson Tide next plays at 3 p.m. March 14 at Mississippi State.
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Alabama Results
Doubles
1. No. 17 Kaukovalta/Osama (Ala) def. Klinger/Rowe, 6-4
2. Roberto/Nesterov (Ala) def. Freeman/Worst, 6-4
3. Sraberg/Harwell (VU) def. Ortiz/Zhou, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. No. 36 Osama (Ala) def. Klinger, 5-7, 7-6, 7-5
2. Ortiz (Ala) def. Harwell, 7-6, 4-6, 6-1
3. Sisam (VU) def. Kaukovalta, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
4. Rowe (VU) def. Zhou, 6-3, 6-4
5. Roberto (Ala) def. Virtanen, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2
6. Gschwendtner (Ala) def. Ferreira, 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 4, 3, 2, 5, 1
