Alabama Men’s Tennis Takes Down the Razorbacks on the Road

After coming off back-to-back wins on Easter weekend, the men's tennis team continued their winning streak with a defeat over top-ranked Arkansas on Sunday. This is the Tide's second road victory and third win over a ranked conference opponent.

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The Crimson Tide went 1-4 in the previous five games before Texas A&M and LSU were postponed. The team struggled to get through challenging games against Georgia, Auburn and Tennessee; however, the Tide is now on a three-game win streak despite the early struggles.

Patrick Kaukovalta and Riccardo Roberto started the day with double wins at number one, while Alexey Nesterov and Edson Ortiz, the SEC Player of the Week, took the win at number two. Zhe Zhou gave the Tide the lead after a win at number three. The Tide and Razorbacks went back forth after Arkansas won the first and sixth match to re-take the lead, 3-2. Kaukovalta took the lead with a three set match win at number two and a tie-breaker win for Jeremy Gschwendtner at number five to seal the win for No. 22 Alabama, 5-2, over No. 26 Arkansas.

Head coach George Husack said he was proud of the toughness that his team showed and how the guys "remained calm, disciplined and determinate from start to finish." Husack praised the team's response after last weekend and said it would give the team "some momentum as we face more challenges this week."

Alabama is now 14-8 on the season, while Arkansas falls to 9-13. The Crimson Tide will face LSU on Thursday, April 15 at 3 p.m. and Texas A&M on Saturday, April 17. The SEC Men's Tennis Tournament starts Monday, April 19 through Friday, April 23, as the Tide tries to use the momentum in its favor.