Men's Tennis | 3/29/2016 6:49:00 PM

STATESBORO, Ga.- For the first time in two seasons, the Georgia Southern men's tennis team defeated Mercer on Tuesday at the Wallis Tennis Complex.

"It feels really good," sophomore Eddie Landin said. "They won in the tiebreaker last year and it was so painful to watch. When we came out and beat them this time, it was a really good feeling."

 Looking back, it's been a close matchup between the two teams and for the past three years, it's ended in a 4-3 result—two times in the Bears' favor and once in the Eagles' back in 2013.
However, this time, Georgia Southern took off with a convincing 5-2 win at home.

"We were really fired up throughout doubles," Landin said. "In the beginning of singles, they were on top of us, and we were a little hesitant, but we stayed with what we knew."

No.1 doubles partners Dani Casablancas and Rise Lanne won the first doubles match in a clean 6-0 sweep, while Christian Kerrigan and Ze Moya took advantage and clinched the doubles point at line two to start the Eagles ahead.
The Bears won nearly all of the first games in singles, but the Eagles found their footing and won four of the first sets. Landin was the first to close out his match, winning 6-2, 6-0 at the No.5 position.
 
"It helps a lot to win in straight sets," Landin said.  "I used to always win in three sets and it was a grind. It was so demanding physically and when you win in straight sets, you just know that you have to do the basics and keep it up throughout."

From there, JC Alcala took over line two to win 6-3, 6-1 and put GS up 3-0. However, the Bears kept the Eagles' lead within two, as they earned the point on court six against Andre Johnson.

Rise Lanne, who won his 15^th match this spring, clinched the Blue and White victory with his 7-6, 6-3 performance. With his 22 wins throughout the year, he is currently tied for second in school history in most single season wins.  
Mercer earned their second point from a forfeit on court three, and Ze Moya rounded out scoring by winning 7-5, 6-3 on court four.

With their 13-5 spring record, the Eagles now hold the best record in 15 years.

RESULTS
Georgia Southern 5, Mercer 2

Singles competition
1. Rise Lanne (GS) def. Sam Philp (MER) 7-6, 6-3
2. JC Alcala (GS) def. Nicolas Guillon (MER) 6-3, 6-1
3. Arnav Mohanty (MER) def. Dani Casablancas (GS) 6-2, 3-6, retired
4. Ze Moya (GS) def. Anderson Scarpa (MER) 7-5
5. Eddie Landin (GS) def. Arsav Mohanty (MER) 6-2, 6-0
6. Ruben Vanoppen (MER) def. Andre Johnson (GS) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Dani Casablancas/Rise Lanne (GS) def. Sam Philp/Arnav Mohanty (MER) 6-0
2. Christian Kerrigan/Ze Moya (GS) def. Ruben Vanoppen/Arsav Mohanty (MER) 6-2
3. JC Alcala/Eddie Landin (GS) def. Fernando Guardia/Nicolas Guillon (MER) 6-2
 

UP NEXT
The Eagles play one more match this week on Saturday against the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina starting at 1 p.m.
 
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