By Rani Goodland | St. Mary's Athletics Communications
Pensacola, FLORIDA - The St. Mary's Men's Tennis team edged out West Alabama, 4-3, at the University of West Florida courts in Pensacola on Friday, defeating the No. 12 ranked opponents.
"It was a great team win overall" said sophomore Brendan Brown, "it was really great feeling to play and fight for the team, it was an even better feeling for me to come out on top and clinch the match for us."
The Rattlers opened with doubles action, where the sophomore duo of Alex Gee and Sai Konakanchi defeated Erik Nordblom/Noah Johansen 7-6 on the No. 3 court. This was not enough to secure the doubles point, as the No. 1 and No. 2 Rattlers doubles fell, giving West Alabama a 1-0 lead in the match.
StMU jumped out early in singles action, earning two-set sweeps from Gonzalez and Bonnay on the No. 1 and No. 5 courts, bringing the Rattlers back to 2-2 after the Rattlers fell at the No. 3 singles position.
With three courts still in play, the Rattlers needed two wins to clinch the match. Popovic was the first to fall on the No. 2 court in straight sets against Ilari Vesanen. Alex Gee and Brendan Brown were on the last two courts at the No. 4 and No. 6 spots, both fighting in three-set battles. Alex Gee had a grueling battle in the third set, coming back from a 2-5 setback to win the match 7-5, bringing the Rattlers back to 3-3.
On court No. 6, Brendan Brown was in a tough duel against opponent Noah Johasen. Brown was down 5-6 in the third set, having two match points against him. The sophomore prevailed under pressure and was able to close out the match 7-6 and clinch for the Rattlers, winning in a tight 4-3 battle.
Match Breakdown:
St. Mary's: 4 West Alabama: 3
Doubles:
1.Julius Kaverinen/Linus Holthey (WA) def. Bojan Popovic/Jerimiah Gonzalez (STMU) 6-2
2. Henrik Sinkko/Ilari Vesanen (WA) def. Jose Antelo/Brendan Brown (STMU) 6-3
3. Sai Konakanchi/Alex Gee (STMU) def. Erik Nordblom/Noah Johansen (WA) 7-6
Singles:
1. Jeremiah Gonzalez (STMU) def. Julius Kaverinen (WA) 6-4, 7-5
2. Ilari Vesanen (WA) def. Bojan Popovic (STMU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Ilia Dehodiuk (WA) def. Jose Antelo (STMU) 6-0, 6-1
4. Alex Gee (STMU) def. Linus Holthey (WA) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
5. Louis Bonnay (STMU) def. Erik Nordblom (WA) 7-6, 6-4
6. Brendan Brown (STMU) def. Noah Johansen (WA) 1-6, 7-5, 7-6
