CONWAY, S.C. - Reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week Dimitris Paliouras rolled off four straight games to complete a three-set victory in the deciding match of No. 66 Georgia Southern's 4-3 victory over host Coastal Carolina in Sun Belt Conference men's tennis action on Saturday afternoon in Conway, S.C.
The sixth straight win for the Eagles pushed their record to 10-7 overall and 4-0 in the Sun Belt, while Coastal Carolina fell to 6-10 overall and 1-3 in the league. Georgia Southern returns home to the Wallis Tennis Center to host No. 73 Troy on Saturday, April 6, for Senior Day against the Trojans at 10 a.m.
Georgia Southern was able to take a 1-0 lead after a tightly contested doubles point, in which two of the three matches went to tiebreakers. Laurent Julia Calac and Aaron James Williams won their tiebreaker over Rivers Cahill and Eric Tripathi for the 7-6 win at No. 3 doubles. Pol del Castillo and Matthew Mitchell then clinched the point with a come-from-behind 7-5 win over Ryuya Ata and Maj Tomac that included five match points saved. With the point clinched, No. 1 doubles play was halted in the middle of its tiebreaker.
Singles saw each team record three first set wins. Coastal Carolina took a 2-1 lead with straight-set singles wins at No. 5 and No. 4 singles, but del Castillo tied the match up with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Carlos Berna Ruiz at No. 2 singles. All three remaining singles matches went to three sets.
Williams notched a 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 win over Lucas Wayenburg at No. 3 singles for the Eagles, but the Chanticleers collected a win at No. 6 singles to tie the match at 3-all.
At that point, all attention switched to No. 1 singles, where Paliouras trailed, 4-2, in the third set to Ata. But Paliouras won four straight games to finish off the 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 win and clinch the victory for the Eagles.
"Road wins in the Sun Belt often play 'hard to get'," Georiga Southern head men's tennis coach Andrew Goodwin said. "Today, we were committed to playing 'hard to get rid of'. I'm so proud of our guys' willingness to stay together, and how they got tougher the longer we were out on the courts. It's another great step forward for our guys."
RESULTS
Singles
1. Dimitris Paliouras (GS) def. Ryuya Ata (CCU) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. Pol del Castillo (GS) def. Carlos Berna Ruiz (CCU) 7-6, 6-4
3. Aaron James Williams (GS) def. Lucas Wayenburg (CCU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-2
4. Maj Tomac (CCU) def. Judson Blair (GS) 6-4, 6-3
5. Juan Cruz Collardin (CCU) def. Laurent Julia Calac (GS) 6-2, 7-5
6. Eric Tripathi (CCU) def. Matthew Mitchell (GS) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
Doubles
1. Judson Blair/Dimitris Paliouras (GS) and Carlos Berna Ruiz/Lucas Wayenburg (CCU) 6-6, unfinished
2. Pol del Castillo/Matthew Mitchell (GS) def. Ryuya Ata/Maj Tomac (CCU) 7-5
3. Laurent Julia Calac/Aaron James Williams (GS) def. Rivers Cahill/Eric Tripathi (CCU) 7-6
