Friday, February 3
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
6:00 PM
Texas Tech Athletics
3
at
4
Alabama
Men's Tennis Comeback Falls Short at Alabama, 4-3
February 03, 2017 | Men's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Texas Tech men's tennis team put forth a valiant comeback effort before being handed a 4-3 defeat by Alabama Friday at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility.
The Red Raiders (2-4) faced a 3-1 deficit but turned the tables when Ronit Bisht and Jolan Cailleau secured straight-set victories minutes apart to knot the score at 3-3.
Bisht used late surges in both frames to claim a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Alexey Nesterov on court four. He won the final two games of the opener and four of the last six games of the match to tuck away his fourth consecutive singles victory.
Cailleau, ranked No. 25 in the nation, grinded out a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 6-4 triumph over No. 63 Mazen Osama at the top of the lineup.
The attention turned to the No. 5 singles line where Texas Tech's Pyry Hyrkkönen was facing off with Edson Ortiz in a winner-take-all third set. The two freshmen went back-and-forth, but it was Ortiz who emerged with the 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 decision on his home court.
Texas Tech mixed up its doubles pairs and were playing without Connor Curry due to injury. Bisht and Alex Sendegeya rattled off the last three games to notch a 6-2 victory over Nesterov and Ritchie Kruunenberg at the No. 2 slot.
Alabama (4-2) answered courtesy of a 6-3 win from Thibault Cancel and Ortiz versus Hyrkkönen and Carlos DiLaura in the No. 3 position.
The Crimson Tide captured the 1-0 edge when No. 32 Osama and Spencer Richey outlasted Cailleau and Bjorn Thomson by a 6-4 margin on court one.
"I thought the fight and the effort today was a lot better than what we had last weekend," Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. "We've lost three of our four matches by a 4-3 score. They've each had a different feel to them. We had our chances to win. The biggest thing is we have to take advantage of our opportunities when we're on the road. Everyone except for Pyry was up a break in the first set. That's what hurt us a little. Next time, you have to be ready and take it. Coach Szabo made a great point to our team that you can't get down on yourself. When we lost those breaks early, we would lose the next game pretty quickly. You have to have a short memory and stay the course. Obviously, we missed not having Connor in the lineup. He makes a big difference in both our doubles and singles lineup."
Texas Tech struck first in singles play and evened the tally at 1-1 as Thomson reeled off nine of the last 11 games to cruise to a 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Richey in the No. 3 spot. For Thomson, he joined Bisht with a team-leading four straight singles wins.
Alabama regained a 3-1 lead behind a 7-5, 6-3 win from Zhe Zhou against DiLaura at the bottom of the lineup coupled with a 6-4, 6-3 victory from No. 78 Cancel versus Sendegeya on court two.
Next up, Texas Tech meets its second straight SEC opponent in Vanderbilt who is receiving votes in this week's Oracle/ITA Top 25 poll. Sunday's first serve is slated for 9 a.m. CT from Nashville.
The Red Raiders next home matches are a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 10 against UTSA and Abilene Christian. First serve is set for 12 p.m. CT at the McLeod Tennis Center. Admission is free to all home matches with free pizza served for all fans while supplies last.
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the Texas Tech men's tennis program. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/Techmenstennis and @TexasTechTennis on Twitter.
Alabama 4, Texas Tech 3
February 3, 2017 – Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
Singles
1 – No. 25 Jolan Cailleau (TTU) defeats No. 63 Mazen Osama (BAMA): 7-6 (4), 6-4
2 – No. 78 Thibault Cancel (BAMA) defeats Alex Sendegeya (TTU): 6-4, 6-3
3 – Bjorn Thomson (TTU) defeats Spencer Richey (BAMA): 6-3, 6-2
4 – No. 120 Ronit Bisht (TTU) defeats Alexey Nesterov (BAMA): 6-4, 6-3
5 – Edson Ortiz (BAMA) defeats Pyry Hyrkkönen (TTU): 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
6 – Zhe Zhou (BAMA) defeats Carlos DiLaura (TTU): 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 6, 4, 1, 5
Doubles
1 – No. 32 Mazen Osama/Spencer Richey (BAMA) defeats Jolan Cailleau/Bjorn Thomson (TTU): 6-4
2 – Ronit Bisht/Alex Sendegeya (TTU) defeats Alexey Nesterov/Ritchie Kruunenberg (BAMA): 6-2
3 – Thibault Cancel/Edson Ortiz (BAMA) defeats Carlos DiLaura/Pyry Hyrkkönen (TTU): 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Texas Tech (2-4)
Alabama (4-2)
The Red Raiders (2-4) faced a 3-1 deficit but turned the tables when Ronit Bisht and Jolan Cailleau secured straight-set victories minutes apart to knot the score at 3-3.
Bisht used late surges in both frames to claim a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Alexey Nesterov on court four. He won the final two games of the opener and four of the last six games of the match to tuck away his fourth consecutive singles victory.
Cailleau, ranked No. 25 in the nation, grinded out a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 6-4 triumph over No. 63 Mazen Osama at the top of the lineup.
The attention turned to the No. 5 singles line where Texas Tech's Pyry Hyrkkönen was facing off with Edson Ortiz in a winner-take-all third set. The two freshmen went back-and-forth, but it was Ortiz who emerged with the 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 decision on his home court.
Texas Tech mixed up its doubles pairs and were playing without Connor Curry due to injury. Bisht and Alex Sendegeya rattled off the last three games to notch a 6-2 victory over Nesterov and Ritchie Kruunenberg at the No. 2 slot.
Alabama (4-2) answered courtesy of a 6-3 win from Thibault Cancel and Ortiz versus Hyrkkönen and Carlos DiLaura in the No. 3 position.
The Crimson Tide captured the 1-0 edge when No. 32 Osama and Spencer Richey outlasted Cailleau and Bjorn Thomson by a 6-4 margin on court one.
"I thought the fight and the effort today was a lot better than what we had last weekend," Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. "We've lost three of our four matches by a 4-3 score. They've each had a different feel to them. We had our chances to win. The biggest thing is we have to take advantage of our opportunities when we're on the road. Everyone except for Pyry was up a break in the first set. That's what hurt us a little. Next time, you have to be ready and take it. Coach Szabo made a great point to our team that you can't get down on yourself. When we lost those breaks early, we would lose the next game pretty quickly. You have to have a short memory and stay the course. Obviously, we missed not having Connor in the lineup. He makes a big difference in both our doubles and singles lineup."
Texas Tech struck first in singles play and evened the tally at 1-1 as Thomson reeled off nine of the last 11 games to cruise to a 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Richey in the No. 3 spot. For Thomson, he joined Bisht with a team-leading four straight singles wins.
Alabama regained a 3-1 lead behind a 7-5, 6-3 win from Zhe Zhou against DiLaura at the bottom of the lineup coupled with a 6-4, 6-3 victory from No. 78 Cancel versus Sendegeya on court two.
Next up, Texas Tech meets its second straight SEC opponent in Vanderbilt who is receiving votes in this week's Oracle/ITA Top 25 poll. Sunday's first serve is slated for 9 a.m. CT from Nashville.
The Red Raiders next home matches are a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 10 against UTSA and Abilene Christian. First serve is set for 12 p.m. CT at the McLeod Tennis Center. Admission is free to all home matches with free pizza served for all fans while supplies last.
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the Texas Tech men's tennis program. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/Techmenstennis and @TexasTechTennis on Twitter.
Alabama 4, Texas Tech 3
February 3, 2017 – Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
Singles
1 – No. 25 Jolan Cailleau (TTU) defeats No. 63 Mazen Osama (BAMA): 7-6 (4), 6-4
2 – No. 78 Thibault Cancel (BAMA) defeats Alex Sendegeya (TTU): 6-4, 6-3
3 – Bjorn Thomson (TTU) defeats Spencer Richey (BAMA): 6-3, 6-2
4 – No. 120 Ronit Bisht (TTU) defeats Alexey Nesterov (BAMA): 6-4, 6-3
5 – Edson Ortiz (BAMA) defeats Pyry Hyrkkönen (TTU): 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
6 – Zhe Zhou (BAMA) defeats Carlos DiLaura (TTU): 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 6, 4, 1, 5
Doubles
1 – No. 32 Mazen Osama/Spencer Richey (BAMA) defeats Jolan Cailleau/Bjorn Thomson (TTU): 6-4
2 – Ronit Bisht/Alex Sendegeya (TTU) defeats Alexey Nesterov/Ritchie Kruunenberg (BAMA): 6-2
3 – Thibault Cancel/Edson Ortiz (BAMA) defeats Carlos DiLaura/Pyry Hyrkkönen (TTU): 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Texas Tech (2-4)
Alabama (4-2)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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