Statesboro, Ga. – The Eagles (3-6) fell to the visiting Stetson University Hatters by a score of 3-4. The closely contested match, lasting less than 3 hours, saw Georgia Southern lose the critical doubles point which proved to be the difference maker.
"We came out in doubles with good energy, but weren't able to solidify some chances early on in the sets," said Head Coach Alexander Koning. "This came back to bite us later on."
The No. 1 doubles tandem of
Christian Kerrigan and
Kyle Hoffman were defeated by Laurynas Antropikas and Loic Blanco 3-8. At No. 2 doubles,
Ristomatti Lanne and
Jose Landin were setback by Chester Espie and Nathan Debut 4-8. The No. 3 doubles match was unfinished as the Stetson Hatters clinched the point.
"In singles, we fought hard and the atmosphere was great," continued Koning. "Again it came down to the last match. Nico played very well, but had one sloppy game in the middle of the set and that was enough for Stetson to clinch the match."
Lanne took down Nathan Debut 7-5, 6-1 at the No. 1 position. At No. 2,
Albert Codina Sala defeated Antropikas 6-3, 7-5. Hoffman was victorious over Graham Ball in the No. 5 position 6-4, 6-3.
At the No. 3 match-up, Kerrigan was setback by Blanco 0-6, 2-6. Landin was defeated by Simon Julin in the No. 4 position 3-6, 1-6. At No. 6,
Nico de Groof fell to Espie 1-6, 6-2, 4-6.
"It's the third time in four matches that we lose 3-4 and its coming down to the last match," concluded Koning. "It hurts, especially knowing how much work we put in and not getting the reward. There were also a lot of positives too and we just need to stay the course and have some of these matches go our way."
The Eagles will travel to Elon, North Carolina for a match with the Phoenix of Elon University Saturday March 7th at 12 p.m.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.
