PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. – The Georgia Southern men's tennis team saw their season conclude with a narrow 4-3 loss to second-seeded South Alabama on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Men's Tennis Championship.
 
In the doubles matches, the pair of Jacob Mitchell and Laurent Julia Calac fell at the No. 3 position, 6-4, but Tao Castillo and the SBC Freshman of the Year Pol del Castillo were able to secure a victory at the No. 2 position over the SBC Player of the Year Sébastien Collard and his partner Maxime St-Hilaire, a First-Team All-SBC duo, 6-4. However, at the No. 1 position, Alexandros Roumpis and Valentin Dun fell 6-4 to the other First-Team All-SBC duo from USA, Jack Clements and Louis Delcour, clinching the doubles point for South Alabama.
 
In singles, the Jaguars were able to grab a victory at the No. 2 position, but the Eagles mounted a rally and grabbed wins in the No. 4, 5, and 6 positions. Julia Calac took down his opponent at the No. 6 position, 6-4, 7-5, to get the Eagles on the board. Dimitris Paliouras defeated St-Hilaire, a Second-Team All-SBC competitor in singles, at the No. 4 position, 6-1, 7-5, and Dun defeated Bugaj at the No. 5 position, 6-4, 6-1 to give the Eagles the lead in the match at 3-2.
 
Castillo and del Castillo both pushed their matches to third sets, but Castillo was defeated at the No. 3 position, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, to tie up the afternoon at three all. Del Castillo fought through the final set, but the SBC Player of the Year was able to clinch the victory and escape Georgia Southern's rally, earning the Jaguars the first-round win at 4-3.
 
QUOTE FROM COACH BAYON: "We played a very good match today against a great South Alabama team. As much as it hurts to lose, I am proud of how hard we fought and very pleased with the way we played this afternoon. It is disappointing to lose by such a close margin, but it will help us grow and come back stronger next year. Go Eagles!"
 
RESULTS
Doubles
1. J. Clements/L. Delcour def. A. Roumpis/V. Dun (GS), 6-4
2. T. Castillo/P. del Castillo (GS) def. S. Collard/M. St-Hilaire, 6-4
3. M. Bugaj/J. Montoya def. J. Mitchell/L. Julia Calac (GS), 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
 
Singles
1. S. Collard def. P. del Castillo (GS), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
2. J. Clements def. A. Roumpis (GS), 6-2, 7(3)-6
3. L. Delcour def. T. Castillo (GS), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
4. D. Paliouras (GS) def. M. St-Hilaire, 6-1, 7-5
5. V. Dun (GS) def. M. Bugaj, 6-4, 6-1
6. L. Julia Calac (GS) def. J. Montoya, 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 2, 3, 1