ROME, Ga. – Capturing victory from a thrilling match, the University of Alabama in Huntsville men's tennis team picked up a road triumph on Tuesday as it was a 5-4 winner over Shorter. The Chargers improve to 10-8 (1-3 Gulf South Conference), and the Hawks fall to 8-7 (1-5 GSC).
“I am so proud of our guys today,” said Head Coach Daniel Finn. “We really played with so much heart, and they deserved this win. To have so many reasons not to win and deficits to overcome and still find a way to win says a lot about how far they have come this season.”
Christopher Kano returned to action after missing the last match with an injury, and despite still suffering from the effects of the wound, Kano and doubles partner
Raphael Oliveira provided the Chargers with their only point in doubles play as they won 8-3 at the third position.
Trailing 2-1, Kano would even the match with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the No. 3 singles contest.
Shorter then would pick up a pair of victories – including at the second spot where
Fredrik Graaner battled but fell 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-5 – to need to just capture one of the remaining three points.
Staving off defeat for his team,
Guillermo Reyes won 6-1, 6-3 in the No. 6 match, and it was at that point that the match became, in Finn's words, crazy.
At the fourth position,
Nestor Perez dropped the first set 3-6 and found himself just two points away from falling as he trailed 2-5 (0-30) in the second set, but he would storm back for a 7-5 victory in the set to force the deciding third. With momentum squarely on his side, Perez won 6-0 in the third frame to tie the match at 4-4.
Oliveira dropped the first set 2-6 at the fifth position in the match that would decide the overall contest, and he trailed 0-5 in the second set before he repeated the heroics of Perez to win the middle frame 7-5. He would have to save several match points in the third set, but ultimately he prevailed by a 7-5 score to win the point and seal the match for the Chargers.
The team will look to build on the momentum generated by the exciting win on Wednesday when Christian Brothers visits at 1 p.m.
