The Wolf Pack finish the season at 8-12 overall and 3-6 in conference.
The Loyola University New Orleans men's tennis team competed against No. 2 Auburn University-Montgomery in the opening round of the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Tournament on Friday morning.
The Wolf Pack were upset-minded heading into the match with the perennial national powerhouse Warhawks, but were overmatched in the end falling 9-0.
In doubles competition, Steven Le (JR/Tustin, Calif.) and Ernesto de Diego (SO/Panama City, Panama) faced the No. 14-ranked pair in the NAIA. Le and Diego made some terrific plays and battled with their talented opponent, but lost the match 8-4.
Maxime Rumeau (FR/Aix en Provence, France) and Sean Presti (FR/Lesigny, France) played with a chip on their shoulder and tested their the No. 2 duo for Auburn-Montgomery. It was a hotly contested match that came down to the final few sets, but the Warhawks narrowly defeated Presti and Rumeau by a final tally of 8-6.
In the No. 3 spot, Federico Mercado (JR/Miami, Fla.) and David Mayhall (SR/Mobile, Ala.), playing in his final match, had the difficult task of trying to take down the country's No. 20 ranked duo. The Wolf Pack tandem were unable to overcome the talent of their opposition and fell 8-0.
Trailing 3-0, the Wolf Pack were looking to make a great comeback in singles play. Le manned the No. 1 position for Loyola as he has all season. Le faced the No. 30-ranked singles player in the nation and fell in straight sets.
Rumeau, playing in the No. 2 spot, fell in straight sets to his opponent. Presti, playing in the third position, also dropped his match in straight sets against the No. 35-ranked singles player in the nation.
The opening set escaped Diego, 6-4, in the No. 4 spot, but he could not reciprocate his phenomenal first set in the second and lost the match. Mercado fell in the No. 5 spot in straight sets.
In his final singles match, Mayhall left everything out on the hardcourt, but was unable to win the match falling in straight sets.
The Wolf Pack end the year 8-12 overall and 3-5 in conference. Besides Mayhall, the entire squad will return in 2017 and will look to continue to make strides as a program. This year's team, led by head coach Kyle Russell, already made Loyola history by receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25, and will use that as a building block next season.
