Men's Tennis Battles to Victory in Macon
2/27/2011 6:14:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Macon, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Men's Tennis team (4-4) defeated Mercer (3-4) by a 4-3 score in a long match on Saturday afternoon at the Peddy Tennis Center. Freshmen Marco Osorio's (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) strong play clinched the match-winning point for the Eagles.
Georgia Southern came out strong in singles play with wins at the top four seeds. Osorio stepped up for his team at number-four singles, rallying with a 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 decision after trailing 5-4 in the third set to win his match.
"Osorio's play under pressure today was remarkable," said Eagles Head Coach Nick Zieziula. "For a freshman to play with that level of poise, managing the momentum shifts like he did in a deciding-match situation, was very impressive."
Alain Garrido (Vigo, Spain) started the Eagles off with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Peter Tauchner at No. 2 singles. No. 1-seeded Juan Melian Puigventos (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain) defeated Mercer's Pierre Tafelski in straight sets 6-1, 7-5. Sophomore Matthijs Verdam (Hilversum, The Netherlands) served Fernando Amerndaris a loss with a score of 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 3 spot.
The number-one duo of Melian Puigventos and Verdam improved to 7-1 for the season, claiming the only Eagles' win in doubles play. They defeated Mercer's Tauchner and Rosindo 8-6 to extend their win streak to three.
"More important than any one individual performance today, though, was the way the entire team stepped up and responded to our disappointing performance in doubles play," Zieziula said. "During the singles we found a new level of intensity and a new level of confidence. This is a great win to wrap up a long string of road matches and we need to bring this momentum into our homestand which starts tomorrow."
The Eagles return to Statesboro to play host Florida A&M Sunday, February 27th, at the Hanner Tennis Complex. The match begins at noon.
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.
Georgia Southern Eagles 4, Mercer Bears 3
February 26, 2011 at Macon, Ga. (Peddy Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. Juan Melian Puigventos (GSU) def. Pierre Tafelski (MU) 6-1 7-5
2. Alain Garrido (GSU) def. Peter Tauchner (MU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Matthijs Verdam (GSU) def Fernando Armendaris (MU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Marco Osorio (GSU) def. Evandro Rosindo (MU) 7-6 (1), 2-6, 7-5
5. Guilherme Frias (MU) def. Edio Castanhel (GSU) 6-1, 6-2
6. David Barton (MU) def. Thomas Bekkers (GSU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 6, 1, 3, 4
Doubles Competition
1. Juan Melian Puigventos/Matthijs Verdam (GSU) def. Peter Tauchner/Evandro Rosindo (MU) 8-6
2. Pierre Tafelski/David Barton (MU) def. Marco Osorio/Alain Garrido (GSU) 8-5
3. Fernando Armendaris/Guilherme Frias (MU) def. Derrick Davisson/Sebastien Felt (GSU) 8-3
Order of finish 3,2,1
