The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Men's Tennis Defeats Samford, 6-1
2/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
"We gave a really good effort today," said UAB head coach Derek Tarr. "Samford is a very improved team, so it's a good win. I was particularly proud of our young players and our effort in doubles matches. We still need to improve if we are going to defeat nationally-ranked teams."
The Blazers got things going in the right direction by winning the doubles point after sweeping three matches. UAB's No. 1 doubles team of Ivan Andreev and Kristijan Mitrovski defeated Samford's Clive Yeo and Manuel Miletic, 8-2. Blazers Andre Maier and Dino Mancarella won the No. 2 doubles match by beating Bulldogs Johnny Griffee and James Bryce, 8-6. At the No. 3 doubles position, UAB's Patrick Suhrbier and Sanzaruz Zaman defeated SU's Travis Johnson and Raphael Bohli, 8-3.
In singles, the Blazers continued their winning ways winning five of six matches. UAB's Maier defeated Yeo, 6-2, 6-3, at the No. 1 spot, while at the No. 3 spot, Blazer Mitrovski beat Miletic, 6-3, 6-2. In the No. 4 match, Samford's Johnson fell to UAB's Ruben Zrihen, 6-3, 6-0. UAB was also victorious in the No. 5 match, as Zaman defeated Griffee in the only three-set match of the day, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. Blazer Rusty Walker won at the No. 6 spot, beating Andres Leal, 6-3, 6-2.
The only UAB loss came in the most dramatic match of the day, as Samford's Bohli defeated Suhrbier at the No. 2 spot. In the first set, Bohli looked to be in control, winning 6-2, however in the second set, Suhrbier fought back. After forcing a tiebreaker, Suhrbier battled to stay alive in the match. Unfortunately, Bohli took the tiebreaker, 10-8, and won the match, 6-2, 7-6.
UAB's match with North Alabama, scheduled for Thursday, February 6, has been moved to Tuesday, February 11, at 1:30 p.m. at Brook Highland Racquet Club.
