Men's Tennis | 2/13/2016 6:41:00 PM

DELAND, Fla.- The Georgia Southern men's tennis team was able to get back to their winning ways, beating FAU 4-2 on Saturday.

"It was a great match from both sides," head coach Sander Koning said. "FAU really played well and gave us a lot of trouble; they kept fighting on every court."

However, the Eagles came out on top, first picking up the doubles point with wins from lines two and three. Doubles pair Dani Casablancas and JC Alcala finished first, winning 6-3. Nico de Groof and Eddie Landin closed out the doubles portion on a 6-4 victory.

"We started off right with doubles, we had great energy and were able to execute the game plan," Koning said.

It came down to our physicality and performing under pressure. We had a little bit more in the tank at the end.

In singles play, it was a battle all around with each of the six going into three sets. No.6 Andre Johnson was able to break his opponent and pick up the first singles point for the Eagles, despite losing the first set.
FAU was able to tie it up, winning two straight matches over Georgia Southern's Chris Kerrigan and Dani Casablancas. However, Rise Lanne (No.1) and Eddie Landin (No.3) clinched the victory with their three-set wins. The line two match-up with Alcala was cut short in the third set, tied 6-6 after the Blue and White reached four points.

RESULTS
Georgia Southern 4, FAU 2

Singles Competition
1. Rise Lanne (GSU) def. R. Chancerel (FAU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3)
2. JC Alcala (GSU) vs. J. Gauer (FAU) DNF, 6-4, 4-6, 6-6
3. Eddie Landin (GSU) def. A. Gitin (FAU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
4. Z. Acob (FAU) def. Dani Casablancas (GSU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
5. I. Jimenez (FAU) def. Christian Kerrigan (GSU) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
6. Andre Johnson (GSU) def. G. Nickerson (FAU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-0

Doubles Competition
1. Lanne/Kerrigan (GSU) v. Gauer/Nickerson DNF, 5-5
2. Landin/de Groof (GSU) def. Chancerel/Engel (FAU) 6-4
3. Casablancas/Alcala (GSU) def. Fitin/Acob (FAU) 6-3
 
QUOTABLE FROM COACH KONING

"My hat goes off to the entire team for playing as hard as they did. We had several guys going down a break in the third set and they fought their way back into the match. Even the guys who lost, helped the other guys because they stayed on the court.

"Andre was off the court first in singles. He outworked his opponent. Rise was down match points 5-6, and pulled out the game and took over in the final tiebreak. Eddie was very steady and was able to recover from a tough first set loss.


"The guys should take pride in the way they played today. This is who we want to be, competitors who make people suffer.

"Tomorrow will be a new day with a new opponent, who will be eager to play against us. They are a good team with very talented players."

UP NEXT
The Eagles dual Stetson at noon on Sunday in Deland, Fla. to close out the weekend.