Michigan
Alabama
Newcomers Shine in Michigan's Season-Opening Loss at No. 22 Alabama
1/19/2019 7:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis
» Michigan earned its lone doubles win from Matias Siimar and Harrison Brown.
» Newcomers Andrew Fenty and Patrick Maloney earned wins in the first dual match of their career.
» Connor Johnston picked up U-M's other victory in singles play.
Site: Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility)
Score: #22 Alabama 4, #23 Michigan 3
Records: U-M (0-1), Alabama (1-0)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 26 -- vs. North Carolina State (Varsity Tennis Center), 10 a.m.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team was unable to come back after dropping the doubles point, falling 4-3 Saturday afternoon (Jan. 19) in its season opener at Baumgardner Tennis Facility.
The Wolverines duo of sophomores Mattias Siimar and Harrison Brown got the first win in doubles with a 6-3 victory. Alabama was able to claim victories with tiebreakers at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots to claim the doubles point.
The Crimson Tide extended their lead to 3-0 with singles victories on courts at the No. 3 and No. 1 positions before U-M rallied for two wins to cut the score to 3-2. The Maize and Blue got its first point of the afternoon when junior Connor Johnston won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 4 spot. U-M's next point came from freshman Patrick Maloney, who earned a win at No. 5, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Alabama clinched the match with a win at No. 6, where senior Gabe Tishman battled to two tiebreaks but ultimately fell 6-7 (3), 6-7 (7). The final match at No. 2 was played out, and freshman Andrew Fenty defeated No. 41-ranked Patrick Kaukovaita, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Michigan will return to Ann Arbor to host the ITA Kick-off for the first time in program history next weekend (Jan. 26-27). U-M will take on North Carolina State on Saturday (Jan. 26) at 10 a.m., then take on either Baylor or Georgia on Sunday.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #24 Mazen Osama (UA) def. Mattias Siimar (U-M), 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 -- Andrew Fenty (U-M) def. #41 Patrick Kaukovalta (UA), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 -- Edson Ortiz (UA) def. Myles Schalet (U-M), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 -- Connor Johnston (U-M) def. Thibault Cancel (UA), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 -- Patrick Maloney (U-M) def. Alexey Nesterov (UA), 7-6 (4), 6-4
No. 6 -- Zhe Zhou (UA) def. Gabe Tishman (U-M), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Mazen Osama/Patrick Kaukovalta (UA) def. Connor Johnston/Myles Schalet (U-M) 7-6 (7-4)
No. 2 -- Mattias Siimar/Harrison Brown (U-M) def. Thibault Cancel/Alexey Nesterov (UA) 6-3
No. 3 -- Edson Ortiz/Zhe Zhou (UA) def. Andrew Fenty/Gabe Tishman (U-M) 7-6 (7-3)
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1-3, Singles 3-1-4-5-6-2
Players Mentioned
