Men’s tennis starts 4-0, prepares for No. 28 Auburn
By Tim Dennis/ Student Publications
Tech tennis started off strong against Alabama by winning the doubles point against the Crimson Tide. The Jackets never looked back en route to a 6-1 home victory over Alabama to stay undefeated.
The men’s tennis team took on Alabama last weekend at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. The Jackets faced the Crimson Tide in a match that was moved indoors due to inclement weather. The Jackets won 6-1 to improve to 4-0 for the season while the Crimson Tide fell to 3-2.
“It is always good to get a win against a good, experienced team like Alabama from a good conference like the SEC,” Head Coach Kenny Thorne said. Alabama is currently ranked No. 51 in the nation while Tech is ranked No. 32.
The day started off with the Jackets winning their first two doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead. Tech’s pair of sophomore Scott Blackmon and junior Zachary Rath defeated Alabama’s Javier Bes and Billy Mertz 8-5 in the first doubles match.
In the second doubles match, sophomores Jordan Delass and George Gveslesiani easily disposed of Andrew Felsenthal and Dan Buikema of the Crimson Tide 8-3.
The Jackets took a 2-0 lead over Alabama after David North defeated Mathieu Thibaudeau in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. Following that, Zachary Rath defeated Javier Bes 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 to increase the Jackets lead to 3-0.
Alabama earned its first and only point of the match from Joseph Jung’s hard-fought victory over Marko Rajevac 4-6, 7-6, 7-5. After this, sophomore Jordan Delass clinched the match against Alabama by picking up the fourth point of the match. He defeated Billy Mertz 7-6, 6-3.
“I got to clinch the match. It is always a good feeling to be the guy to put the fourth point on the board, to be able to seal the deal. Everybody was going nuts, and it was a lot of fun to be out there and win the match for the team,” Delass said.
After the match was clinched, George Gvelesiani defeated Andrew Felsenthal 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (5). Scott Blackmon won his match over Sammy Struyf 6-3, 6-0.
The Jackets picked up their fourth win over Alabama after defeating Furman 7-0, Middle Tennessee State 4-3 and most recently Georgia State 6-1, which was played last Wednesday, Feb. 8.
The Jackets should be pleased with their successful start to the season, and Thorne joked about how he feels about playing in matches that are closely contested.
“I like the more comfortable matches better than the closer ones. I already have enough white hair and don’t want to end up looking like Bobby Cremins,” Thorne said.
The Jackets continue their eight-game homestand and look to stay undefeated this weekend as they go up against the No. 28 Auburn Tigers at noon on Sunday at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. It will be the first time this season that Tech faces a higher-ranked opponent, and therefore the Tigers may be the greatest test this season for the Jackets.
The ACC championship will be April 20-24 in Cary, N.C. and NCAA regionals begin May 13.
2006 Tennis Home Games
| Sun. | Feb. 26 | Auburn | 12:00 |
| Fri. | Mar. 3 | Arizona State | 3:00 |
| Sun. | Mar. 5 | Miami | 1:00 |
| Wed. | Mar. 8 | Clemson | 2:30 |
| Fri. | Mar. 31 | Virginia | 2:00 |
| Sun. | Apr. 2 | Virginia Tech | 12:00 |
| Thu. | Apr. 13 | Boston College | 2:30 |
| Fri. | Apr. 14 | Maryland | 3:00 |
