STATESBORO – The Georgia Southern Eagles men's tennis team fell 4-2 to the 65th-ranked Georgia State Panthers on Thursday afternoon. The match was senior day for the Eagles.
 
The afternoon began with the doubles matches, where the Panthers were able to grab the victory in just two matches. Jacob Mitchell and Pol del Castillo fell at the No. 3 position 6-4, then Tao Castillo and Alex Suk fell at the No. 2 position 7-5, giving the Panthers the 1-0 advantage. Valentin Dun and Alexandros Roumpis did not finish their match at the No. 1 position but were up 4-3 at the time their match was called.
 
In the singles matches, Dimitris Paliouras was the first to complete his match, taking down the Sun Belt Player of the Week by a score of 6-1, 4-0 (retirement). Paliouras' match was the only match to be completed in two sets, as all other matches were pushed to their third set. Del Castillo fell at the No. 1 position (3-6, 6-4, 6-3) to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead, but Roumpis (4-6, 6-2, 6-1) at the No. 2 position was able to dominate his opponent in the third set to tie up the match at two all. Laurent Julia Calac (4-6, 6-4, 6-0) fell at the No. 6 position to give Georgia State a 3-2 lead, and the match was clinched on the third court, as Castillo (1-6, 7-6, 6-2) fell at the No. 3 position.
 
QUOTE FROM COACH BAYON: "I'm very proud of the team today, everyone gave an outstanding effort and put their heart into the battle. We did not play as good as a double match as we could but we are looking forward to get another chance to perform on Saturday."
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles will head to Conway, SC, for a second time this season to face the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. First serve is set for noon on Saturday, April 9.
 
RESULTS
Doubles
1. V. Dun/A. Roumpis (GS) v. A. Duarte/R. Grinvalds, 4-3 (uf)
2. K. Huynh/H. Maughan def. T. Castillo/A. Suk (GS), 7-5
3. D. Padilha/P. Lazo def. J. Mitchell/P. del Castillo (GS), 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 2
 
Singles
1. A. Duarte def. P. del Castillo (GS), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. A. Roumpis (GS) def. R. Grinvalds, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
3. V. Shubladze def. T. Castillo (GS), 1-6, 7-6, 6-2
4. D. Paliouras (GS) def. H. Maughan, 6-1, 4-0 (wr)
5. V. Dun vs. K. Huynh, 4-6, 7-6, 0-1 (uf)
6. P. Lazo def. L. Julia Calac (GS), 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2, 6, 3