Eagle Rally Against Samford Falls Short

STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Men's Tennis (9-7, 2-2 SoCon) team forced a third-set on two remaining courts against Samford (13-4, 3-2 SoCon). The ball would not fall into the Eagles' court as the Bulldogs won one of the remaining contests to clinch the match, 5-2.

With inclement weather on the horizon Sunday (March 27), both teams decided to move match time to 11 a.m. and begin the contest at singles play with hopes of the match being decided in time. Singles play on four courts concluded before heavy rains forced the contest to be postponed. At the time, Samford was ahead 3-1 with the Eagles attempting a comeback in third sets at the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds.

Georgia Southern's top of the lineup pulled the Eagles within one match of tying singles play.  At No. 1, Juan Melian Puigventos (Las Palmas De Las Canaria, Spain) won in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to close the Bulldog lead 3-1 before play came to a halt. Melian Puigventos won his 15th match on the season with a current nine-match winning streak.

Matthijs Verdam (Hilversum, The Netherlands) and Marco Osorio (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) fought on courts two and four, respectively, to bring the Eagles within reach of a singles-play draw. At No.2, Verdam split the first two sets to force a third set. Verdam mirrored his first set, winning the finale 6-3 to cut the lead 3-2. Verdam is now 7-1 at the number-two seed.

On court four, Osorio won the second set 6-3 to force a final set. The freshman yielded the match point to finish 1-6, 6-3, 5-7.

With the outcome of the match decided, the No.1 doubles team of Melian Puigventos and Verdam defeated Samford's Oliver Reynolds and Carl Abalos 8-4. The duo are now 9-4 at the number-one spot.

Georgia Southern begins a two-week road swing in the Carolinas this weekend to continue SoCon play. The Eagles travel to UNC Greensboro on Saturday (April 2nd) before competing against Davidson on Sunday (April 3rd). Georgia Southern closes out the road trip at Appalachian State (April 9th) and Elon (April 10th) the following weekend.

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.

Samford 5, Georgia Southern 2
March 29, 2011 at Statesboro, Ga. (Hanner Tennis Complex)

Singles competition

1. J. Melian Puigventos (GSU) def. Carson Kadi (SAM-MT) 6-4, 6-4
2. Matthijs Verdam (GSU) def. Zac Dunkle (SAM-MT) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. Carl Abalos (SAM-MT) def. Alain Garrido (GSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Oliver Reynolds (SAM-MT) def. Marco Osorio (GSU) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
5. Fernando Costa (SAM-MT) def. Sebastien Felt (GSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Alexander Sajonz (SAM-MT) def. Edio Castanhel (GSU) 6-1, 6-3

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

Doubles competition

1. J. Melian Puigventos/Matthijs Verdam (GSU) def. Oliver Reynolds/Carl Abalos (SAM-MT) 8-4
2. Zac Dunkle/Alexander Sajonz (SAM-MT) def. Thomas Bekkers/Edio Castanhel (GSU) 8-5
3. Carson Kadi/Fernando Costa (SAM-MT) def. Derrick Davison/Alain Garrido (GSU) 8-3

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Category: Men's Tennis

Published on Tuesday, 29 March 2011 20:32