The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Mercer
UAB Tennis Team Downs Visiting Mercer, 5-2
4/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 15, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB men's tennis team posted their 11th victory in the past 12 matches here Tuesday as the Blazers downed visiting Mercer, 5-2.
UAB, 12-2 and ranked No. 70 nationally, swept all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead into singles and then won at the bottom four singles positions -- all in straight sets -- to defeat the Bears. Brian Ly, Tyrone Ewels, Thomas Petrich and Alex Emery were all singles winners for the Blazers.
Ly defeated Mercer's Justin Wimpee at the No. 3 position, 6-2, 6-1. At No. 4 singles, Ewels was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Fernando Armendaris.
Thomas Petrich won a tight 7-5, 6-4 decision at the No. 5 spot over the Bears' Matthew Poleon while Emery cruised past Chapman Mitchell, 6-2, 6-1.
Mercer took their lone wins at the top of the singles lineup. Tobias Ohrstrom defeated UAB senior Hans Spangenberg, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 1 with Ivan Besancon downing freshman Dan Cornei, 6-4, 6-3. For Cornei, the loss in singles was only his third in 14 dual matches this spring.
The Blazers had taken a 1-0 lead with a sweep in doubles. At the No. 1 position, Ly and Spangenberg teamed to defeat Mercer's Besancon and Ohrstrom, 8-4. At No. 2, the tandem of Ewels and Slawomir Szeremeta won over Armendaris and Mitchell, 8-4.
Cornei and Emery closed out doubles play with an 8-7 (4) win over Ryan Ingram and Wimpee.
UAB now will get ready for this weekend's Conference USA Championship, slated for Friday through Sunday in Dallas. The Blazers, seeded fourth, will play No. 5 seed UCF in Friday's opening round.
No. 70 UAB 5, Mercer 2
Doubles
No. 1 - Brian Ly/Hans Spangenberg (UAB) def. Ivan Besancon/Tobias Ohrstrom (MER) 8-4
No. 2 - Tyrone Ewels/Slawomir Szeremeta (UAB) def. Fernando Armendaris/Chapman Mitchell (MER) 8-4
No. 3 - Dan Cornei/Alex Emery (UAB) def. Ryan Ingram/Justin Wimpee (MER) 8-7 (4)
Singles
No. 1 - Ohrstrom (MER) def. Spangenberg (UAB) 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 - Besancon (MER) def. Cornei (UAB) 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 - Ly (UAB) def. Wimpee (MER) 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 - Ewels (UAB) def. Armendaris (MER) 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 - Thomas Petrich (UAB) def. Matthew Poleon (MER) 7-5, 6-4
No. 6 - Emery (UAB) def. Mitchell (MER) 6-2, 6-1
Players Mentioned
