Men's Tennis | 4/16/2016 6:42:00 PM

STATESBORO, Ga.-  In the last weekend before the Sun Belt Tournament, the Georgia Southern men's tennis team dropped two matches to conference opponents Georgia State and Appalachian State on Saturday. Although the matches were tight, the Eagles found themselves just short of the wins.
 
"I hope that the guys know that we were right there for both matches," head coach Sander Koning said of the 15-7 Eagles. "It came down to a couple of points and unfortunately for us, we were on the wrong end of it. For me, what it came down to was, 'what do you do at critical moments?' and our opponents played a little bit better [at those times]. I have to give them credit."
 
The Georgia State match started on Friday but due to rain, the singles portion was finished on Saturday morning. After the Panthers took the doubles point the first day, Georgia State finished it off 4-1, earning points on courts one, two and six. Eddie Landin was the lone Eagle to score for Georgia Southern before the match was clinched. At the No.5 position, Landin won 6-4, 6-0.
 
Against the Mountaineers, GS dominated doubles winning on courts two and three. JC Alcala and Eddie Landin won at the No.2 spot 6-3 while Chris Kerrigan and Nico de Groof won by the same score.
 
In singles it was a back-and-forth battle that lasted all the way up to the final serve. App State took the 2-1 lead after winning over Alcala (No.2) and de Groof (No.6). Casablancas (No.4) and Landin (No.5) earned back the lead after winning their matches. Along with Landin, Rise Lanne (No.1) and Ze Moya (No.3) had to fight through three sets; however, after two long battles, the Mountaineers came out on top in both matches to win 4-3.
 
"This weekend should serve as motivation for the Sun Belt Tournament," Koning said. "We all know how close we are, and why we lost. It comes down to us making sure that we get a couple good days of practice in and take it to them. The tournament is survive and advance so if you lose you're out. I hope that's enough motivation for the guys to go after it."

Saturday doubled as Senior Day where the Eagles were able to honor and celebrate Nico de Groof's and Rise Lanne's contributions to the program on their last matches at home. 
 
RESULTS

Georgia State 4, Georgia Southern 1
 
Singles competition
1. Koeke,Jannis (GSU) def. Rise Lanne (GS) 6-1, 7-6
2. Kennedy,Zackery (GSU) def. JC Alcala (GS) 7-5, 6-1
3. Ze Moya (GS) vs. Andrukhou,Andrei (GSU) 6-7, 3-2, unfinished
4. Daniel Casablancas (GS) vs. Acuna,Sebastian (GSU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
5. Eddie Landin (GS) def. MacFarlane,Jack (GSU) 6-4, 6-0
6. Jaworski,Felipe (GSU) def. Andre Johnson (GS) 6-0, 6-2
 
Doubles competition
1. Daniel Casablancas/Rise Lanne (GS) vs. Acuna,Sebastian/Andrukhou,Andrei (GSU) 5-4, unfinished
2. Kennedy,Zackery/MacFarlane,Jack (GSU) def. Christian Kerrigan/Ze Moya (GS) 6-3
3. Koeke,Jannis/Bishop,Joseph (GSU) def. Eddie Landin/JC Alcala (GS) 6-4
 
Appalachian State 4, Georgia Southern 3
 
Singles competition
1. Scott Webster (APP) def. Rise Lanne (GS) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
2. Oliver Casey (APP) def. JC Alcala (GS) 6-2, 6-1
3. Jack Maddocks (APP) def. Ze Moya (GS) 6-7, 6-3, 7-5
4. Daniel Casablancas (GS) def. Zach Bost (APP) 6-3, 7-6
5. Eddie Landin (GS) def. Jan-Willem Kleynhans (APP) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
6. Trey Morris (APP) def. Nico de Groof (GS) 6-2, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. Daniel Casablancas/Rise Lanne (GS) vs. Scott Webster/Jan-Willem Kleynhans (APP) 5-4, unfinished
2. JC Alcala/Eddie Landin (GS) def. Jack Maddocks/Oliver Casey (APP) 6-3
3. Christian Kerrigan/Nico de Groof (GS) def. Zach Bost/Trey Morris (APP) 6-3

UP NEXT
The Eagles head to New Orleans to compete in the Sun Belt Conference Championships in the fight for the Conference trophy. The tournament is scheduled for April 21-24.
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