Texas Tech Athletics
Auburn
Tech defeats No. 38 Alabama on final day of Blue Gray Classic
February 26, 2023 | Men's Tennis
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In a day full of rain delays, the Texas Tech Red Raiders would close out the Blue Gray Tennis Classic with a gutsy win against the No. 38-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, 4-3, late Saturday night.
Overall, Tech went 1-2 in the tournament with its two losses coming at the hands of No. 36 Auburn, 4-2, and Tulane, 4-3. Olle Wallin and Tyler Stewart led the Red Raiders in singles wins with two apiece, as those two victories for Wallin were his first ranked wins of the year. In addition, Reed Collier, Lorenzo Esquici and Sebastian Abboud all collected a singles win in the competition.
TTU 1, Auburn 4 Recap:
Texas Tech was taking on the No. 36 Auburn Tigers (8-2) in the first round of the Blue Gray Classic. Since there was a rain delay at the beginning of competition, both teams would play singles first.
Auburn took a 3-0 lead with wins at courts one, four and six. The Red Raiders cut into the lead when Stewart recorded a straight-set win against Jan Galka by a 7-5, 6-2 score. Auburn would clinch the match, though, when Alejandro Moreno posted a come-back win at court two to give the Tigers a 4-1 victory.
When the match was clinched, Collier was locked in a battle at court three against Will Nolan. Collier would drop his first set, 6-1, before forcing a third set with a 6-3 second-set win. Collier's match would go unfinished when the Red Raider was ahead, 6-5, in the third and final set.
TTU 3, Tulane 4 Recap:
Tulane (3-4) was up next for the Red Raiders in the consolation round. Starting with doubles, the Red Raiders picked up their eighth doubles point of the season to take a 1-0 advantage over the Green Wave.
Dimitrios Azoidis and Collier paired up at court one to face Tulane's Luka Petrovic and Billy Suarez. The Red Raider duo would end up taking the match by a 6-3 score to give Tech the slight advantage.
Then, the tandem of Abboud and Stewart would clinch the point at court three against Luc Hoeijmans and Benji Jacobson, 6-4, to give Tech the 1-0 lead. Over at court two, Piotr Pawlak and Franco Ribero were tied at 4-all with Fynn Kuenkler and Sam Scherer when play concluded.
Tulane evened the score quickly with a singles win at court two. But, Wallin posted his first ranked win of the season after downing No. 74 Kuenkler at court one, 6-2, 7-6 (3), to retake the lead at 2-1. The Green Wave would tie it up again after Suarez won his match at court three.
Stewart delivered another impressive win for the Red Raiders as he battled against Hoeijmans at court five. The Midland native would easily win his first set, 6-1, before falling in the second by a 6-4 score. He rallied back to win his match with a thrilling, three-set victory, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Tulane once again came back to tie the match at 3-3 when Rafael de Alba won at court six. It came down to court four where Azoidis was locked in a tough match against Alex Bancila. Azoidis came out on top in set one by a 6-3 score before Bancila evened it up with a 6-4 second set. The Green Wave player would come back to win in the third set, 7-5, and clinch the match for Tulane, 4-3.
TTU 4, Alabama 3 Recap:
In the night cap, Texas Tech (6-6) would face SEC-foe and No. 38-ranked Alabama (8-5). The Crimson Tide took an early 1-0 lead when they won the doubles point after picking up victories at courts one and two, both by a 6-2 score.
An exciting lineup of singles would follow as the contest was decided by the very last point for the second match in a row. Alabama would go up 2-0 when Roan Jones won at court four over Stewart. But, Collier would give the Red Raiders some life as he defeated Matias Ponce De Leon at court three in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-4.
For the Crimson Tide, No. 51 Enzo Aguiard would get the best of Ribero at court two, giving Alabama a 3-1 advantage. Tech had to win out in order to seal the victory – and they did just that.
Wallin recorded his second-consecutive ranked victory over at court one against No. 94 Filip Planinsek, who was the 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year, by a gritty score of 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. Abboud made his first singles appearance since Feb. 6 and picked up right where he left off, pulling out the straight-set victory against Joao Ferreira, 7-5, 6-3.
For the third time this season, it was freshman Lorenzo Esquici who clinched the match for Texas Tech at court five. Taking on Yair Sarouk, Esquici posted a 7-6 (3) tiebreaker in the first set to go ahead. But, the Alabama player would claw his way back and even things up when he won set two, 6-2. The Brazil native would take a 4-3 lead in the third set, then win two of the next three games to clinch the victory for Tech, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-4.
Up next, the Red Raiders head to Tempe, Ariz., for the Arizona State Spring Break Tournament on March 10-12.
#44 TTU 1, #36 Auburn 4
RESULTS
Singles
1. #103 Tyler Stice (AUB) def. Olle Wallin (TTU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Alejandro Moreno (AUB) def. Franco Ribero (TTU), 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
3. Will Nolan (AUB) vs. Reed Collier (TTU), 6-1, 3-6, 5-6, unfinished
4. Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Dimitrios Azoidis (TTU), 6-2, 6-1
5. Tyler Stewart (TTU) def. Jan Galka (AUB), 7-5, 6-2
6. Raul Dobai (AUB) def. Lorenzo Esquici (TTU), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
Order of finish: Singles (4, 1, 6, 5, 2)
#44 TTU 3, Tulane 4
RESULTS
Singles
1. Olle Wallin (TTU) def. #74 Fynn Kuenkler (MTLN), 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
2. Luka Petrovic (MTLN) def. Franco Ribero (TTU), 6-4, 6-4
3. Billy Suarez (MTLN) def. Reed Collier (TTU), 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
4. Alex Bancila (MTLN) def. Dimitrios Azoidis (TTU), 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
5. Tyler Stewart (TTU) def. Luc Hoeijmans (MTLN), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
6. Rafael de Alba (MTLN) def. Lorenzo Esquici (TTU), 0-6, 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1. Dimitrios Azoidis/Reed Collier (TTU) def. Luka Petrovic/Billy Suarez (MTLN), 6-3
2. Piotr Pawlak/Franco Ribero (TTU) vs. Fynn Kuenkler/Sam Scherer (MTLN), 4-4, unfinished
3. Sebastian Abboud/Tyler Stewart (TTU) def. Luc Hoeijmans/Benji Jacobson (MTLN), 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3); Singles (2, 1, 3, 5, 6, 4)
#44 TTU 4, #38 Alabama 3
RESULTS
Singles
1. Olle Wallin (TTU) def. #94 Filip Planinsek (UA), 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
2. #51 Enzo Aguiard (UA) def. Franco Ribero (TTU), 6-3, 6-4
3. Reed Collier (TTU) def. Matias Ponce De Leon (UA), 6-4, 6-4
4. Roan Jones (UA) def. Tyler Stewart (TTU), 6-3, 6-2
5. Lorenzo Esquici (TTU) def. Yair Sarouk (UA), 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-4
6. Sebastian Abboud (TTU) def. Joao Ferreira (UA), 7-5, 6-3
Doubles
1. Enzo Aguiard/Filip Planinsek (UA) def. Reed Collier/Olle Wallin (TTU), 6-2
2. German Samofalov/Yair Sarouk (UA) def. Piotr Pawlak/Franco Ribero (TTU), 6-2
3. Joao Ferreira/Matias Ponce De Leon (UA) vs. Sebastian Abboud/Tyler Stewart (TTU), 3-2, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2); Singles (4, 3, 2, 1, 6, 5)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
4,1,6,5,2
Players Mentioned
