STATESBORO - Georgia Southern men's tennis opened up Sun Belt Conference play successfully with a 5-2 win over Georgia State on Friday afternoon at the Wallis Tennis Center.
The Eagles (6-7, 1-0 SBC) won their fourth match out of their last five with the win while also taking a second straight match from the Panthers (6-8, 0-1 SBC). Georgia Southern returns to action on Sunday, hosting Chattanooga in an 11 a.m. non-conference match at Wallis.
Georgia Southern battled back from early deficits to claim the doubles point. Pierre Mouesca and Judson Blair collected a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles, while Matthew Mitchell and Aaron James Williams clinched the point with a 7-5 win at No. 3 doubles.
The Eagles then collected four straight-set singles wins to clinch the victory. Pol del Castillo notched a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles over Gabriele Datei, while Aaron James Williams claimed a 6-2, 6-2 win over Maxwell Weir at No. 5 singles. Dimitris Paliouras knocked off Baran Soyler, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 1 singles, then Pierre Mouesca claimed a 6-1, 7-6 win at No. 3 singles.
"It feels good," Georgia Southern head men's tennis coach Andrew Goodwin said about the Sun Belt-opening win. "I'm really happy with the guys' resiliency and their willingness to work through an uncomfortable doubles point. There were different spots where we just consistently down and not playing our best, but I didn't see any panic with the guys. They were really tough. I thought in singles, we were consistent for the most part, and things worked out for us today."
The Eagles also welcomed back several Alumni for today's match against the Panthers.
RESULTS
Singles
1. Dimitris Paliouras (GS) def. Baran Soyler (GSU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Pol del Castillo (GS) def. Gabriele Datei (GSU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Pierre Mouesca (GS) def. Edward Tymes (GSU) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
4. Diogo Morais (GSU) def. Judson Blair (GS) 6-1, 6-2
5. Aaron James Williams (GS) def. Maxwell Weir (GSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Naufal Kamaruzzaman (GSU) def. Laurent Julia Calac (GS) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. Gabriele Datei/Baran Soyler (GSU) def. Pol del Castillo/Dimitris Paliouras (GS) 6-4
2. Judson Blair/Pierre Mouesca (GS) def. Diogo Morais/Edward Tymes (GSU) 6-3
3. Matthew Mitchell/Aaron James Williams (GS) def. Naufal Kamaruzzaman/Maxwell Weir (GSU) 7-5
