Men's Tennis | 3/6/2016 6:37:00 PM

STATESBORO, Ga.- Despite a tough battle extending all the way to the last match in the third set, the Georgia Southern men's tennis team couldn't hold onto their four-match winning streak as Florida Gulf Coast won in a 4-3 heartbreaker at the Wallis Tennis Complex on Sunday.

"It was a hard-fought battle," head coach Sander Koning said. "You have to give credit to Florida Gulf Coast—they played very well and fought back. That's a sign of a good team. They never quit."

For the second time this weekend, the Eagles earned the doubles point. However, that was the last time the Blue and White would lead throughout the rest of the match. FGCU won the first two singles matches at the No.6 and No.2 positions to bring them to a 2-1 lead.

Freshman Ze Moya tied it back up after winning his match 7-5, 6-1 at line four, but soon after, Florida Gulf Coast took their third singles point on court three, even after Eddie Landin's sound campaign for a third set.

"The guys played well but they were kind of looking for roadblocks," Koning said. "I told the guys, 'I'm not taking anything away from your fight, but we were looking for ways out instead of concentrating on what we needed to do.'"

With the Eagles being down 2-3, they needed the last two singles points to clinch the match. Junior Dani Casablancas furrowed through the third set to tie it up 3-3 after winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. This was the second crucial singles match this weekend that Casablancas won, after he clinched the match over Troy a day earlier.

After the Blue and White tied up the match 3-3 against Florida Gulf Coast, the focus was all on court one. Senior Rise Lanne was on his way to coming from behind to steal the win, trailing 3-5 in the third set. However, FGCU's Ricky Ventura slipped past to clinch the 4-3 victory thanks to his 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 win.

"It literally comes down to a point here and there," Koning said. "We'll take this loss and learn from it and do better next Saturday."

Today marked the first time Lanne lost a singles match this spring and the first time in the regular season since March 27 of last year.

After this weekend, the Eagles are 9-4 overall, 1-0 in conference play and 4-1 at home.
 
RESULTS
Florida Gulf Coast 4, Georgia Southern 3
Singles competition
 
1. VENTURA, Ricky (FGCU) def. Rise Lanne (GS) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3
2. ALFONZO, Andres (FGCU) def. JC Alcala (GS) 6-4, 6-3
3. CERRINI, Ezequiel (FGCU) def. Eddie Landin (GS) 7-6, 6-4
4. Ze Moya (GS) def. ALFONZO, Eduardo (FGCU) 7-5, 6-1
5. Daniel Casablancas (GS) def. LANDERT, Oliver (FGCU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
6. FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. Andre Johnson (GS) 6-4, 6-2
 
Doubles competition
1. Christian Kerrigan/Rise Lanne (GS) def. VAZ, Lucas/VENTURA, Ricky (FGCU) 6-1
2. Daniel Casablancas/Nico de Groof (GS) vs. CERRINI, Ezequiel/ALFONZO, Andres (FGCU) unfinished
3. JC Alcala/Eddie Landin (GS) def. LANDERT, Oliver/FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) 6-3

UP NEXT
The Eagles play their last home match next Saturday before heading on the road for four matches straight. Georgia Southern faces UNC Greensville at 10 a.m. March 12 at the Wallis Tennis Complex.
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