Men?s Tennis Falls at SoCon Championships

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The doubles point would be the difference for Georgia Southern (10-13, 3-8 SoCon) as the Eagles fell to Chattanooga (8-15, 3-8 SoCon) 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon, April 20th, in the first round of the Southern Conference Championships. Juan Melian Puigventos (Las Palmas De Las Canaria, Spain), the SoCon Player of the Year, won his 22nd victory at No. 1 singles, the second-most wins for an Eagle in singles play.

"Hats off to Chattanooga, they made some good adjustments from Sunday," said Head Coach Nick Zieziula. "We weren't able to take the doubles point and couldn't find wins at No. 4, 5 and 6 singles, that's where we struggled all year. We can't fault our fight today, but we started too slow in the doubles and made unforced errors at costly times in the singles."

The Eagles quickly found themselves behind, losing the first two matches in doubles play to concede the point. The Mocs extended their lead to 2-0 with a win at No. 4 singles.

With two-straight wins, the Eagles quickly closed the gap. At No. 2, Matthijs Verdam (Hilversum, The Netherlands) won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, against UTC's Chris Smith to bring Georgia Southern within a point. Alain Garrido (Vigo, Spain) tied up the match with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Chattanooga's Tresnan Jackson on court three. 

With the match evened at 2-2, Melian Puigventos put the Eagles ahead after battling Roberto Vieira at the top of the lineup. The sophomore got out to a one-set lead before dropping the next set against Vieira to force a final set. Melian Puigventos was up 5-0 when Vieira retired from play to give the Eagles the lead. The victory was Melian Puigventos 16th-straight in singles play. He ends his season with a 22-1 overall record, Georgia Southern's all-time best winning-percentage in season singles play.

The Eagle lead faded away with the Mocs tying up the contest at No. 5 singles, followed by a win on court six to clinch the match. 

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.

Chattanooga 4, Georgia Southern 3
April 20, 2011 at Chattanooga, Tenn.
Champions Club

Singles competition

1. J. Melian Puigventos (GSU) def. Roberto Vieira (UTC) 6-1, 1-6, 5-0, retired
2. Matthijs Verdam (GSU) def. Chris Smith (UTC) 6-2, 6-2
3. Alain Garrido (GSU) def. Tresnan Jackson (UTC) 7-6, 6-2
4. Rick van de Bovenkam (UTC) def. Edio Castanhel (GSU) 6-2, 6-3
5. William Disterdick (UTC) def. Mark Paetz (GSU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
6. Stephen Crofford (UTC) def. Sebastien Felt (GSU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)

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

Doubles competition

1. Chris Smith/William Disterdick (UTC) def. J. Melian Puigventos/Matthijs Verdam (GSU) 8-5
2. Tresnan Jackson/Stephen Crofford (UTC) def. Edio Castanhel/Marco Osorio (GSU) 8-5
3. Alain Garrido/Derrick Davison (GSU) vs. Orlando Lourenco/Roberto Vieira (UTC) 5-6, unfinished

Order of finish: 2, 1

Category: Men's Tennis

Published on Wednesday, 20 April 2011 21:54