The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Alabama
Men's Tennis Team Drops 5-2 Match To Alabama
2/6/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 6, 2013
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ----- UAB won the doubles point but then dropped five of six singles matches -- two of those in three sets -- as the Blazers fell to No. 45 Alabama in men's tennis action, 5-2, Wednesday afternoon.
UAB (2-4) suffered a similar result to what the Blazers had Sunday when they lost 6-1 to No. 22-ranked Auburn. They played tight matches on several courts but failed to convert the critical points when needed.
One difference Wednesday was that UAB captured the doubles point to take 1-0 lead into singles. After Alabama won the first doubles match at No. 2, Rafael Rondino and Luiz Pinto claimed a win at No. 3 doubles before David Zimmerman and Tom Puetz won a close match at the No. 1 spot.
Rondino and Pinto downed the Crimson Tide's Carlos Taborga and Phillippe Tsangarides, 8-4 at the No. 3 position to set up the deciding 8-7 (3) win on the No. 1 court by Zimmerman and Puetz over Alabama's Daniil Proskura and David Vieyra.
The Tide (7-1) quickly tied the score on the strength of Vieyra's 7-5, 6-2 victory at No. 5 over Lucas Dirube. Alabama went on to win four more singles matches before UAB's Pinto outlasted Stuart Kenyon, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, at No. 6 singles.
Alabama's top player, No. 79 ranked Jarryd Botha, defeated the Blazers' David Zimmerman, 7-5, 6-3, at No. 1 singles while Becker O'Shaughnessey made it 3-1 with his 7-6 (5), 6-4 win at No. 2 over Rondino.
Tsangarides was a 6-3, 7-6 (4) winner at No. 4 singles over Chris Helliar for the clinching match. Proskura gave Alabama its fifth point with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Puetz at the No. 3 position.
UAB will be back in action Friday and Saturday this week when they travel to Nashville, Tenn. To take on No. 43 Middle Tennessee and Yale, respectively. The match against the Blue Raiders will start at 4 p.m. CT Friday while the Blazers face the Bulldogs at Noon Saturday
No. 45 Alabama 5, UAB 2
Singles
No. 1 - #79 Jarryd Botha (UA) def. David Zimmerman (UAB) 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 - Becker O'Shaughnessey (UA) def. Rafael Rondino (UAB) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
No. 3 - Daniil Proskura (UA) def. Tom Puetz (UAB) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
No. 4 - Philippe Tsangarides (UA) def. Chris Helliar (UAB) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 5 - David Vieyra (UA) def. Lucas Dirube (UAB) 7-5, 6-2
No. 6 - Luiz Felipe Pinto (UAB) def. Stuart Kenyon (UA) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 - David Zimmerman/Tom Puetz (UAB) def. Daniil Proskura/David Vieyra (UA) 8-7 (7-3)
No. 2 - Jarryd Botha/Becker O'Shaughnessey (UA) def. Chris Helliar/Lucas Dirube (UAB) 8-2
No. 3 - Rafael Rondino/Luiz Felipe Pinto (UAB) def. Carlos Taborga/Philippe Tsangarides (UA) 8-4
Records: UAB 2-4, Alabama 7-1
Players Mentioned
