STATESBORO - Georgia Southern men's tennis earned its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since 1980 with a come-from-behind 4-3 win over No. 49 Old Dominion in Sun Belt action on Sunday at the Wallis Tennis Center.

The Eagles remained unbeaten at Wallis this season and improved to 9-7 overall and 3-0 in the Sun Belt with the victory. Old Dominion (13-5, 3-1 SBC) suffered its first Sun Belt loss of the year.

The last time Georgia Southern earned a win over a nationally-ranked team came on March 1, 1980, when the Eagles defeated No. 19 North Carolina State, 7-2, in Statesboro.

Old Dominion earned the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Matthew Mitchell and Aaron James Williams delivered a 6-4 win over Maxime Mareschal-Hay and Yanis Moundir at No. 3 doubles.

Georgia Southern opened up singles play strong, taking all six first sets from the Monarchs. But a retirement at No. 3 singles gave ODU a point to make the score 2-0.

Aaron James Williams put the Eagles on the board with a straight-set 6-4, 6-4 win over Codie van Schalkwyk at No. 4 singles to make the score 2-1, then all four remaining singles courts went to three sets.

A win by the Monarchs at No. 6 singles meant that the Eagles needed to win all the remaining singles matches to collect the victory. Within two minutes of each other, Pol del Castillo claimed a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over Cosme Rolland de Ravel at No. 2 singles and Dimitris Paliouras scored an upset 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over No. 111-ranked Connor van Schalkwyk at No. 1 singles, pushing all eyes to court five.

Judson Blair served for the match up 5-4 in the third set, but was broke, by Mareschal-Hay. Blair then broke back and served out the final game at love to collect the 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory and give the Eagles the win.

It was the second time that Blair had delivered a 4-3 win as the last singles player left on the court this season. He won a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 singles victory over Kennesaw State back on February 7 to give the Eagles that win as well.

"I was talking with Coach Andrew in between points and just trying to be as stoic as possible," Blair said. "I think it showed. I saw the other guy getting amped up and crazy, so I think just keeping calm during those pressure moments is what got it done."

"I think it's huge for the guys, it was a gut check," Georgia Southern head coach Andrew Goodwin said about the singles effort against the Monarchs. "I felt like our doubles wasn't where it needed to be, although our fight was there. But our basic fundamentals, we lost sight of that in the doubles. I thought we came out great in singles, really believing in ourselves, believing in our toughness, then ODU pushed back like a great team does. So we had another gut check. I thought the guys did a hell of a job responding. We just kept coming, and things broke our way. Really proud of the guys and the work they are putting in. We're ready to keep going.

"Three three-setters down 3-1, it's tough," Goodwin said about the final comeback. "I'll start with Pol, after having a bit of a lead in the second set, then coming out and immediately putting the clamps down on his opponent. Dimitris was down 0-3 and a break point to go down a double break in the third and he never flinched, he's been a rock for us and he just epitomizes what our culture is about. Judson had been there before, we talked about that on the court. Managing himself, couldn't be prouder of how he managed the ups and downs of that. That's the most pressure a guy can be under in college tennis."

The Eagles will return to action on Saturday, March 30, visiting Coastal Carolina for a Noon matchup against the Chanticleers in Conway, S.C.

RESULTS
Singles
1. Dimitris Paliouras (GS) def. #111 Connor van Schalkwyk (ODU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. Pol del Castillo (GS) def. Cosme Rolland de Ravel (ODU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
3. Yanis Moundir (ODU) def. Pierre Mouesca (GS) 5-7, 4-1, retired
4. Aaron James Williams (GS) def. Codie van Schalkwyk (ODU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Judson Blair (GS) def. Maxime Mareschal-Hay (ODU) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
6. Aryan Saleh (ODU) def. Laurent Julia Calac (GS) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

Doubles
1. Jakob Cadonau (ODU) def. Pol del Castillo/Dimitris Paliouras (GS) 6-4
2. Cosme Rolland de Ravel/Codie van Schalkwyk (ODU) def. Judson Blair/Pierre Mouesca (GS) 6-4
3. Matthew Mitchell/Aaron James Williams (GS) def. Maxime Mareschal-Hay/Yanis Moundir (ODU) 6-4