Men's Tennis Tops Furman 4-3
3/9/2011 4:15:00 AM | Men's Tennis
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Men's Tennis team (5-5) rallied from a 0-3 deficit against Furman to take a 4-3 win at the Hanner Tennis Complex Tuesday, March 8th. It was the first win over the Paladins for the Eagles since 1999. Sophomore Matthijs Verdam (Hilversum, The Netherlands) played three hours and 15 minutes at number-two singles for the match win over Furman's Alex Christ 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
"We had the right kind of energy," said Head Coach Nick Zieziula. "The match turned around in our favor when we started playing simply. The way we responded in the singles play was phenomenal."
The match began with the Paladins winning the doubles point as the number-three doubles team of Alexi Chretsoc and Marco Aru took an 8-3 win over Georgia Southern's Sebastian Felt (Vienna, Austria) and Edio Castanhel (Criciuma, Brazil). Sawyer Duncan and Andrew Mellow topped Juan Melian Puigventos (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain) and Verdam at number-one singles with an identical 8-3 score. The Eagles' tandem of Marco Osorio (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) and Alain Garrdio (Vigo, Spain) defeated Chris and Joel Cook at the number-two spot 8-7 (3) in the final doubles match of the afternoon.
Despite two losses to start singles play, and first-set losses in five of the six singles matches, the Eagles fought back for the victory. At the number-four seed, Osorio won his second set 7-5 over Furman's Tyler Droll and took the third set 6-0 for the first Eagles point.
At No. 1 singles, Puigventos took a 7-5, 7-6 (1) win over Duncan for another Georgia Southern point. Felt took the win at number-six singles over Paladin Robbie Aru, falling 2-6 in the first set, but rebounding with a 7-6 (5) win in the second. Felt pulled out the decision in the final set with a 6-4 score.
The Georgia Southern team cheered on Verdam as he and Christ were the final competitors on the court. Verdam, won his second set 7-6 (5) and had begun the third set while his fellow Eagles were still playing. Long after their decisions were registered, Verdam continued to battle. Verdam persevered with a 6-4 win in the critical third set and clinched the Georgia Southern win.
"The way that these guys fought and to watch them pull together to rally when they were down in the doubles point and the five sets in singles was unbelievable," Zieziula said. "To see the belief and determination on their faces and see their hard work pay off in those situations was an incredible feeling. I am very proud of them."
The Eagles return to the Hanner Tennis Complex courts on Wednesday, March 9th, at 1:30 p.m. for a non-conference contest with Florida Gulf Coast. GSU holds a 1-0 record over FGCU after sweeping the singles for a 6-1 win in the inaugural meeting.
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 4, Furman 3
March 8, 2011 at Statesboro, Ga. (Hanner Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. J. Melian Puigventos (GSU) def. Sawyer Duncan (Furman) 7-5, 7-6
2. Matthijs Verdam (GSU) def. Alex Christ (Furman) 4-6, 7-6, 6-4
3. Andrew Mellow (Furman) def. Alain Garrido (GSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Marco Osorio (GSU) def. Tyler Droll (Furman) 2-6, 7-5, 6-0
5. Joel Cook (Furman) def. Edio Castanhel (GSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Sebastien Felt (GSU) def. Robbie Aru (Furman) 2-6, 7-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 3,5,4,1,6,2
Doubles competition
1. Sawyer Duncan/Andrew Mellow (Furman) def. J. Melian Puigventos/Matthijs Verdam (GSU) 8-3
2. Alain Garrido/Marco Osorio (GSU) def. Alex Christ/Joel Cook (Furman) 8-7
3. Marco Aru/Andrei Chvetsov (Furman) def. Edio Castanhel/Sebastien Felt (GSU) 8-3
Order of finish: 3,1,2
