Eagles Advance To Second Round In SoCon Tournament
4/17/2008 4:06:00 AM | Men's Tennis
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? In the first round of play at the Southern Conference Tournament, the Georgia Southern men's tennis team eliminated the No. 10 seed, UNC Greensboro, by a margin of 4-1 at the Farmfield Tennis Center Thursday afternoon. The Eagles, seeded seventh, will face the No. 2 seed Elon tomorrow at 12:30 p.m.
“It was a close, hard fought match,” said head coach Justin Miles. “Clinching the doubles was very good for us. It was tough, but we stuck it out and won at two and three. It got us off to a good start heading into singles.”
Commenting on singles action, Miles was very pleased with the team's performance this afternoon. “Borja rebounded from an earlier loss to the same guy earlier in the year,” said Miles. “Philip played a very solid and smart match at five and Matt clinched it for us at six. He got off to slow start in the first set, but played a lot better in the second and third.”
Georgia Southern (9-12) jumped off to a 1-0 advantage with victories from the two and three seeds to claim the doubles team point heading into singles action; both matches ended in a 5-2 decision. Pairing up at the two spot, Emmanuel Nkoueleue and Matthew Sands downed Yaroslav Litus and Andrey Bubnov, while Philip Prins and Gregory Bekkers cruised past Taylor Befus and William John at the three seed.
To start off singles competition, UNC Greensboro evened the match at one-all with a quick victory at the one spot. However, taking three of six first sets was all the Ealges needed to carry the momentum over from doubles action. Securing the victory for the Eagles with wins at the three, five and six seeds were Borja Malet, Philip Prins and Matthew Sands. Malet notched a 6-3,6-1 straight-set rebounding victory over Martin Redelinghuys at the three seed, while Prins cruised to a 6-2,6-1 win over William John at the five seed. Earning a three-set match at the six seed, Sands defeated Befus, 3-6,6-4,6-2, to clinch the match for Georgia Southern.
“We need to believe in ourselves tomorrow, go out there and compete,” stated Miles. “We're playing very good. The team has had a very good year. We've had a lot of accomplishments with a lot of goals reached. If we believe in ourselves, we can go out there and compete hard and come out with a win tomorrow.”
The Eagles return to competition tomorrow as they take on the Elon Phoenix to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
#7 Georgia Southern 4, #10 UNC Greensboro 1
Singles competition
1. Andrey Bubnov (UNCG) def. Emmanuel Nkoueleue (GSU) 6-2, 6-0
2. Joris De Weerdt (GSU) vs. Arsel Kumdereli (UNCG) 6-4, 5-7, unfinished
3. Borja Malet (GSU) def. Martin Redelinghuys (UNCG) 6-3, 6-1
4. Gregory Bekkers (GSU) vs. Yaroslav Litus (UNCG) 5-7, 2-6, 3-2, unfinished
5. Philip Prins (GSU) def. William John (UNCG) 6-2, 6-1
6. Matthew Sands (GSU) def. Taylor Befus (UNCG) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Joris De Weerdt/Borja Malet (GSU) vs. Arsel Kumdereli/Martin Redelinghuys (UNCG) 5-5, unfinished
2. Emmanuel Nkoueleue/Matthew Sands (GSU) def. Yaroslav Litus/Andrey Bubnov (UNCG) 8-5
3. Philip Prins/Gregory Bekkers (GSU) def. Taylor Befus/William John (UNCG) 8-5
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,3,5,6)
“It was a close, hard fought match,” said head coach Justin Miles. “Clinching the doubles was very good for us. It was tough, but we stuck it out and won at two and three. It got us off to a good start heading into singles.”
Commenting on singles action, Miles was very pleased with the team's performance this afternoon. “Borja rebounded from an earlier loss to the same guy earlier in the year,” said Miles. “Philip played a very solid and smart match at five and Matt clinched it for us at six. He got off to slow start in the first set, but played a lot better in the second and third.”
Georgia Southern (9-12) jumped off to a 1-0 advantage with victories from the two and three seeds to claim the doubles team point heading into singles action; both matches ended in a 5-2 decision. Pairing up at the two spot, Emmanuel Nkoueleue and Matthew Sands downed Yaroslav Litus and Andrey Bubnov, while Philip Prins and Gregory Bekkers cruised past Taylor Befus and William John at the three seed.
To start off singles competition, UNC Greensboro evened the match at one-all with a quick victory at the one spot. However, taking three of six first sets was all the Ealges needed to carry the momentum over from doubles action. Securing the victory for the Eagles with wins at the three, five and six seeds were Borja Malet, Philip Prins and Matthew Sands. Malet notched a 6-3,6-1 straight-set rebounding victory over Martin Redelinghuys at the three seed, while Prins cruised to a 6-2,6-1 win over William John at the five seed. Earning a three-set match at the six seed, Sands defeated Befus, 3-6,6-4,6-2, to clinch the match for Georgia Southern.
“We need to believe in ourselves tomorrow, go out there and compete,” stated Miles. “We're playing very good. The team has had a very good year. We've had a lot of accomplishments with a lot of goals reached. If we believe in ourselves, we can go out there and compete hard and come out with a win tomorrow.”
The Eagles return to competition tomorrow as they take on the Elon Phoenix to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
#7 Georgia Southern 4, #10 UNC Greensboro 1
Singles competition
1. Andrey Bubnov (UNCG) def. Emmanuel Nkoueleue (GSU) 6-2, 6-0
2. Joris De Weerdt (GSU) vs. Arsel Kumdereli (UNCG) 6-4, 5-7, unfinished
3. Borja Malet (GSU) def. Martin Redelinghuys (UNCG) 6-3, 6-1
4. Gregory Bekkers (GSU) vs. Yaroslav Litus (UNCG) 5-7, 2-6, 3-2, unfinished
5. Philip Prins (GSU) def. William John (UNCG) 6-2, 6-1
6. Matthew Sands (GSU) def. Taylor Befus (UNCG) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Joris De Weerdt/Borja Malet (GSU) vs. Arsel Kumdereli/Martin Redelinghuys (UNCG) 5-5, unfinished
2. Emmanuel Nkoueleue/Matthew Sands (GSU) def. Yaroslav Litus/Andrey Bubnov (UNCG) 8-5
3. Philip Prins/Gregory Bekkers (GSU) def. Taylor Befus/William John (UNCG) 8-5
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,3,5,6)
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