Friday, February 24
Montgomery, AL
4:00 PM
Tulane University
4
vs
3
Texas Tech
Alex Bancila
Bancila Comeback Powers Wave Past #44 Texas Tech
Feb 25, 2023 | Men's Tennis
MONTGOMERY, AL – Tulane's No. 4 singles player Alex Bancila staged a rousing third-set comeback to pull out a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Texas Tech's Dimitrios Azoidis late Saturday afternoon at the Blue Gray Championships in Montgomery.
Bancila had been down 5-1 in the deciding set before turning on the juice to push Tulane to 3-4 on the season. Texas Tech, who came into the match at #44 nationally, fell to 5-6.
The resumption of the contest (TTU swept the doubles point Friday afternoon) was delayed Saturday due to inclement weather in the morning.
After the Red Raiders made it 2-0 with a win at No. 1, the Green Wave got victories at No. 2 by Luka Petrovic (6-4, 6-4) and at No. 3 by Billy Suarez (6-4, 1-6, 6-4) to even the overall match at 2-apiece. TTU then won the No. 5 match, but Tulane knotted the affair again with a win by Rafael de Alba at No. 6 by a three-set tally of 0-6, 6-2, 6-4. That set the stage for Bancila's heroics.
"This was a great match that had all different facets of what makes college tennis so great," said Green Wave head coach Mark Booras. "Texas Tech is a super solid team that came out with a bang, took a fast doubles point from us and three really fast first sets in singles. Things looked pretty gloomy for us.
"But our guys weathered the storm, made a couple of adjustments, and got back on course to get things moving in our favor. I'm especially proud of Alex, who was in a desperate situation, down 1-5 in the third set, but kept fighting and believing to clinch the match for us."
A planned third match for Tulane has been canceled due to the weather delay Saturday morning.
The Green Wave finally returns home to City Park Tennis Center on Friday for a doubleheader against Louisiana (12 p.m.) and Alcorn State (4 p.m.), followed by 1 p.m. match against #25 Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders narrowly edged the Olive and Blue, 4-3, in TU's first Blue Gray contest.
Singles
1. Olle Wallin (TTU) def. #74 Fynn Kuenkler (MTLN) 6-3, 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) 6-3
Bancila had been down 5-1 in the deciding set before turning on the juice to push Tulane to 3-4 on the season. Texas Tech, who came into the match at #44 nationally, fell to 5-6.
The resumption of the contest (TTU swept the doubles point Friday afternoon) was delayed Saturday due to inclement weather in the morning.
After the Red Raiders made it 2-0 with a win at No. 1, the Green Wave got victories at No. 2 by Luka Petrovic (6-4, 6-4) and at No. 3 by Billy Suarez (6-4, 1-6, 6-4) to even the overall match at 2-apiece. TTU then won the No. 5 match, but Tulane knotted the affair again with a win by Rafael de Alba at No. 6 by a three-set tally of 0-6, 6-2, 6-4. That set the stage for Bancila's heroics.
"This was a great match that had all different facets of what makes college tennis so great," said Green Wave head coach Mark Booras. "Texas Tech is a super solid team that came out with a bang, took a fast doubles point from us and three really fast first sets in singles. Things looked pretty gloomy for us.
"But our guys weathered the storm, made a couple of adjustments, and got back on course to get things moving in our favor. I'm especially proud of Alex, who was in a desperate situation, down 1-5 in the third set, but kept fighting and believing to clinch the match for us."
A planned third match for Tulane has been canceled due to the weather delay Saturday morning.
The Green Wave finally returns home to City Park Tennis Center on Friday for a doubleheader against Louisiana (12 p.m.) and Alcorn State (4 p.m.), followed by 1 p.m. match against #25 Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders narrowly edged the Olive and Blue, 4-3, in TU's first Blue Gray contest.
Singles
1. Olle Wallin (TTU) def. #74 Fynn Kuenkler (MTLN) 6-3, 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) 6-3
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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