Men?s Tennis Overpowers The Citadel
3/26/2011 1:38:00 AM | Men's Tennis
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Georgia Southern Men's Tennis (9-6, 2-1 SoCon) team overpowered The Citadel (1-16, 0-6 SoCon) Friday afternoon, downing the Bulldogs 6-1 at the Earle Tennis Center. The Eagles are now 20-6 all-time against The Citadel and move into a tie with Wofford for fourth place in the Southern Conference standings.
"Despite the 6-1 score, this was a battle," said Head Coach Nick Zieziula. "The Citadel didn't give us anything for free. We battled for every point and every match with great intensity."
Georgia Southern started doubles play down a match, dropping the No. 2 doubles seed, but closed out the remaining two matches with wins to capture the doubles point. The number-three duo of Derrick Davison (Peachtree City, Ga.) and Alain Garrido (Vigo, Spain) defeated Cadets' Josh Cook and Jeremiah Dye 8-6 to even the tally. Sophomores Juan Melian Puigventos (Las Palmas De Las Canaria, Spain) and Matthijs Verdam (Hilversum, The Netherlands) clinched the doubles point for Georgia Southern, defeating Derek Dickey and David Orces by the same score, 8-6, on court one.
The Citadel started singles play as it did doubles, winning the first match at the number-four seed to tie the match at 1-1. Garrido quickly put the Eagles back up, downing Dickey in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, at the number-three seed. Mark Paetz (Munich, Germany) picked up his third-straight win at the number-six spot when he defeated Elliott Sperr 6-2, 6-2 to extend Georgia Southern's lead.
At No. 2, Verdam was victorious in two straight sets to clinch the match for the Eagles. Verdam overcame a tiebreak in the first set to go up one set, 7-6, on Dillon Berkabile before securing the match with a 6-3 second set. Verdam is now 6-1 at the number-two seed.
With the outcome decided, both the No. 5 and No. 1 seed for Georgia Southern fought tirelessly in three sets to preserve individual wins on the respective courts. Edio Castanhel (Criciuma, Brazil), losing the first set, fought back against Cook to win the next two sets 7-5, 6-4 at number-five singles. The top of the lineup for both programs closed out the contest. Melian Puigventos took a one-set advantage over Orces, but fell in the second set to force a third. Melian Puigventos rebounded, winning 6-4 to extend his record to 14-1 and his winning streak to eight matches.
Georgia Southern continues SoCon play Sunday (March 27th) as it plays host to Samford at the Hanner Tennis Complex at noon. The contest will be the Eagles' last home match for two weeks as the team begins a four-match road swing in the Carolinas on April 2nd.
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 6, The Citadel 1
March 25, 2011 at Charleston, S.C. (Earle Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. J. Melian Puigventos (GSU) def. David Orces (CIT) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. Matthijs Verdam (GSU) def. Dillon Berkabile (CIT) 7-6 (8-6), 6-3
3. Alain Garrido (GSU) def. Derek Dickey (CIT) 6-4, 6-2
4. James Atkinson (CIT) def. Sebastien Felt (GSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Edio Castanhel (GSU) def. Josh Cook (CIT) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
6. Mark Paetz (GSU) def. Elliott Sperr (CIT) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 4,3,6,2,5,1
Doubles competition
1. J. Melian Puigventos/Matthijs Verdam (GSU) def. Derek Dickey/David Orces (CIT) 8-6
2. James Atkinson/Dillon Berkabile (CIT) def. Edio Castanhel/Sebastien Felt (GSU) 8-2
3. Derrick Davison/Alain Garrido (GSU) def. Josh Cook/Jeremiah Dye (CIT) 8-6
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
