Davidson Slips By Georgia Southern Men's Tennis

DAVIDSON, N.C - The Georgia Southern Men's Tennis (9-9, 2-4 SoCon) team rallied back in singles action, but fell short as Davidson (5-15, 1-6 SoCon) won 4-3 at the Covington Tennis Courts on Sunday, April 3rd. Juan Melian Puigventos (Las Palmas De Las Canaria, Spain) generated a victory at the top of the lineup to extend his winning streak to 11 matches.

"We competed much better today and gave ourselves chances," Head Coach Nick Zieziula said. "If we continue to play like this, we are going to be ready to peak at the conference tournament and that has been our major goal all year."

Doubles action started off in favor of the Eagles. Derrick Davison (Peachtree City, Ga.) and Alain Garrido (Vigo, Spain) defeated Davidson's Carter Braxton and Chris Mark, 8-2, on court three to start play. A Wildcats' win on court two evened the score with one match remaining. Puigventos and Matthijs Verdam (Hilversum, The Netherlands) fought to keep the score close at No. 1 singles, but could not tighten the gap, falling 9-7.

Both teams took turns leading the match during singles action. Solid play by No. 1 seed Puigventos evened the score with wins in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0. The victory moved him to 17-1 on the season and gave the sophomore 30 career wins at the collegiate level. Garrido followed up at the No. 3 spot with straight set wins, 6-3, 6-2, to give Georgia Southern a 2-1 advantage.

Victories on court six and four put the Wildcats back up 3-2. Verdam extended his match at the number-two seed to three sets in an effort to tie the match. Davidson won the final set on court two to secure the match and win. Senior Mark Paetz (Munich, Germany) delivered a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Davidson's Walker Lyons at the number-five spot to close out match play.

The Eagles close out their final road trip of the regular season next weekend at Appalachian State and Elon. Georgia Southern travels to face the Mountaineers on Saturday, April 9th, for a noon match before visiting the Phoenix Sunday, April 10th, at 1 p.m.

For more information on Georgia Southern Men's Tennis, follow the Eagles at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/mtennis or receive short updates at twitter.com/GSAthletics or facebook.com/GSAthletics.

Davidson College 4, Georgia Southern 3
Apr 03, 2011 at Davidson, N.C. (Covington Tennis Courts)

Singles competition

1. J. Melian Puigventos (GSU) def. Joe Schafer (DAV) 6-1, 6-0
2. Chris Mark (DAV) def. Matthijs Verdam (GSU) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
3. Alain Garrido (GSU) def. Calum Gee (DAV) 6-3, 6-2
4. Arie Hefter (DAV) def. Edio Castanhel (GSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
5. Mark Paetz (GSU) def. Walker Lyons (DAV) 7-6, 6-4
6. Ethan Kallick (DAV) def. Thomas Bekkers (GSU) 6-1, 6-1

Order of finish: 1, 3, 6, 4, 2, 5

Doubles competition

1. Calum Gee/Joe Schafer (DAV) def. J. Melian Puigventos/Matthijs Verdam (GSU) 9-7
2. Walker Lyons/Ethan Kallick (DAV) def. Edio Castanhel/Thomas Bekkers (GSU) 8-2
3. Derrick Davison/Alain Garrido (GSU) def. Carter Braxton/Chris Mark (DAV) 8-2

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Category: Men's Tennis

Published on Monday, 04 April 2011 05:49