BOX SCORE

Statesboro, Ga. –  It was a chilly and windy day at the Wallis Tennis Center and the Eagles fell 2-5 to the Owls of Kennesaw State.  Doubles was a tight battle, however, the Owls managed to win the necessary 2 of 3 heading in to singles.  Christian Kerrigan got a 3-set victory at No. 3 singles, and Albert Codina Sala picked up a straight set win at No. 4 singles.

"We competed well today against Kennesaw," said interim coach Carlos Oyaga.  "Our focus has been continuous improvement and the guys showed it at today's match.  We need to get better at dealing with pressure situations and tomorrow's match gives us an immediate opportunity to work on this."

At No. 1 doubles, Kyle Hoffman paired with Eduardo Landin to defeat David Durham and Drew Wendel 6-2 to put the Eagles up 1-0 in doubles action.  At No. 3 doubles, Kerrigan and Codina Sala were setback by Simon Pritchard and Alejandro Valencia 4-6 which left each team with 1 point.  

The decision would come down to No. 2 doubles and the match was a battle from start to finish.  In the end, Jake Bouchillon and Manuel Castellanos of Kennesaw State defeated Nico de Groof and Ristomatti Lanne 7-6 to give Kennesaw State the 1-0 advantage prior to singles competition.

At No. 6 singles, de Groof was dispatched by Wendel 2-6, 1-6 to make it 2-0 in favor of the Owls.  The No. 2 singles match between Valencia and Hoffman ended in favor of the visiting team as Hoffman was setback 3-6, 4-6 to make the team score 3-0 for the Owls.

Codina Sala defeated Durham 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4 singles to keep the Eagles in it as the score moved to 3-1.  At No. 1 singles, the match was clenched in favor of the Owls as Lanne fell to Pritchard 4-6, 3-6.  

Jake Bouchillon added an insurance point as he handled Landin 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6) at No. 5 singles.  The final match to finish featured Kerrigan taking down Castellanos 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to obtain another point for the Eagles.

With the defeat, the Eagles move to 0-2 while the Owls improve to 1-0.  The Eagles return to action Sunday Jan. 25 as they take on visiting Alabama State at 10 a.m.  

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