STANFORD, Calif. – The Alabama men’s tennis team (15-13) captured three consecutive singles wins but would fall short in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 25 Pepperdine (17-10).

After trailing 3-0 in the match, Roan Jones, Andrii Zimnokh and Filip Planinsek secured wins on courts two, four and one, respectively, to even the overall team score at 3-3. The Waves, however, clinched the win off a third-set tiebreaker on court six.

“Tough finish to a nail-biter of a match. Great tug of war which was the theme of many matches for us this season. Proud of the effort our team gave today and all year. Here’s to our seniors – Filip, Enzo (Aguiard), Zach (Foster) and Damien (Nezar). Each of them took a leap of faith in coming to Alabama and we are all better because of their choice and commitment. A National Championship, a berth to National Indoors, team-ranking highs and both All-American and Academic All-American honors…all great accomplishments but the treasured results are the relationships they formed while on court, in the locker room and on campus. Our program is in a better place because of their effort, and they will go on and accomplish more great things in their lives. Our season can be looked at as always being in the hunt. We can and will improve in areas while the bitter pill we had to swallow at times will make us stronger.”

Match Notes

• Pepperdine opened with an early advantage, capturing the doubles point before securing back-to-back singles wins on courts three and five
• Jones notched the Tide’s first victory with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 86 Maxi Homberg on court two
• In a back-and-forth matchup, Zimnokh emerged victorious from a third-set battle, downing Carlsson Halldin 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
• After dropping a second-set tiebreaker, Planinsek rallied to take a dominant third set win to secure the match against No. 21 Edward Winter at 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3
• With the overall match tied at 3-3, the decision would come down to a third-set tiebreaker on court six
• After dropping the opening set at 7-5, Damien Nezar rallied to take a 6-4 win in set two
• Despite the battle, the Waves secured the final round off a 7-5 tiebreak score
• The match marked the Tide’s 22^nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament
• Additionally, UA concluded the season with 13 matches notching a 4-3 result as Alabama saw a 4-3 decision in five of its last six contests

Results

Doubles

1. #14 Damien Nezar/Andrii Zimnokh (UA) vs. #80 Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (P) 6-5, unfinished
2. Maxi Homberg/Linus Carlsson (P) def. Matic Kriznik/Enzo Aguiard (UA) 6-3
3. Lasse Poertner/Aleksa (P) def. Matias Ponce De Leon/Carlos Gimenez Perez (UA) 6-3

Order of Finish 3,2

Singles

1. #22 Filip Planinsek (UA) def. #21 Edward Winter (P) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3
2. #77 Roan Jones (UA) def. #86 Maxi Homberg (P) 6-4, 6-4
3. Lasse Poetner (P) def. Matias Ponce De Leon (UA) 6-2, 6-1
4. Andrii Zimnokh (UA) def. L. Carlsson Halldin (P) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
5. Aleksa Pisaric (P) def. Matic Kriznik (UA) 6-2, 6-4
6. David Fix (P) def. Damien Nezar (UA) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)

Order of Finish 3,5,2,4,1,6