TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men’s tennis program (9-13, 1-8 SEC) dropped a tough 4-3 loss to No. 12 Mississippi State (17-5, 5-4 SEC) Sunday afternoon at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
The Tide would claim the doubles point behind wins on courts two and one, respectively. Alabama duo Enzo Aguiard and Zach Foster opened the match with a 6-3 victory over No. 74 Bulldogs duo of Ewen Lumsden and Petar Jovanovic, before Filip Planinsek and German Samofalov clinched doubles play with another 6-3 score over No. 44 pairing Nemanja Malesevic and Carlse Hernandez.
Foster opened singles play with a 6-2, 6-1 victory on court six to give Alabama a 2-0 match lead. Mississippi State would pick up back-to-back wins on courts five and one, respectively, to even the score before Ponce De Leon took court three via a 7-6 (3), 6-4 performance. Despite being up 3-2 with two courts to play, the Tide would fall on both courts as the Bulldogs secured the 4-3 match victory.
Prior to the match, Ferreira was recognized as part of the program’s Senior Day festivities. The Belo Horizonte, Brazil, native will receive a degree in business over the summer.
“What a day. Exciting, celebratory, tense and tough all wrapped up into one. We showed what we are capable of and how we continue to grow as competitors. They responded so well from Friday’s match and an extremely windy practice yesterday where nothing was normal. I’m proud of their continued development, as well as their desire and excitement for the next opportunity. We must stay the course.”
“Joao [Ferreira] made an immediate impact to our program. He left such a positive impression on me during the recruiting process and in turn, has given so much of himself and his character every step of the way. He leads by example 24/7 and always has a smile on his face. He brings joy to the locker room, tennis court and beyond. We are blessed to have him at Alabama as things are always ‘all good’ (a saying he loves to say each day) with Joao around.”
The Match
- Alabama took the first point of the day behind consecutive wins on courts two (6-3) and one (6-3)
- Zach Foster opened singles play with a straight-set victory on court six (6-2, 6-1)
- Mississippi State picked up consecutive wins on courts five (6-4, 6-2) and one (7-5, 6-4), respectively, to even the match
- Matias Ponce De Leon’s victory on court three (7-6 (3), 6-4) to put the Tide back in…
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