The Wolf Pack will try to build on their successful weekend against No. 2-ranked Auburn University- Montgomery on April 9 in Mobile, Alabama.
(Mobile, Ala.)- The Loyola University New Orleans men's tennis team completed their second Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Round-Up with two matches on Sunday.
After winning their lone match on Saturday and splitting today's matches, the Wolf Pack head home from Alabama with a winning record in their second SSAC Round-Up of the season.
Ernesto de Diego (SO/Panama City, Panama) had a dominant individual performance to lead the great Wolf Pack performance that did not go unnoticed by his teammates and coaches. "All of our guys played well this weekend, but Ernesto really stepped up," head coach Kyle Russell said about Diego's performance. "He was definitely the MVP of the round for us."
The first match came early in the morning against Martin Methodist College. The RedHawks of Martin Methodist came in receiving votes for the Top 25 and were favored over the Wolf Pack.
Veterans Diego, David Mayhall (SR/Mobile, Ala.), and Federico Mercado (JR/Miami, Fla.) (SO/Miami, Fla.) led the Wolf Pack to a dominant upset victory over the Redhawks, 6-3.
Diego joined Steven Le (JR/Tustin, Calif.) to pull off a big win at No. 1 doubles in thrilling fashion, 9-7. Diego then put on one of the best performances of the season for Loyola with a straight sets victory, 7-5, 6-3, which Coach Russell said helped propel the team to victory. Le dropped his singles match in the No. 1 position in straight sets 6-3, 6-
Mayhall and Mercado teamed up to steal a nail biter in doubles competition, 8-6. Mayhall, the lone senior on the team, then put on a dominant performance in the No. 5 singles match with a victory in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0. Mercado dropped the first set to his singles opponent, 6-1, before winning the second set unblemished, 6-0, and claiming the match with a 7-5 victory in the tiebreak.
Sean Presti (FR/Lesigny, France) and Maxime Rumeau (FR/Aix en Provence, France) lost their doubles match 8-4, but Presti made up for it in singles competition. He split the first two sets to force a tiebreak, which he won handily, 6-3, in the No. 3 position. Rumeau lost the No. 2 singles match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
In the afternoon, Loyola faced off with No. 16-ranked Middle Georgia State and lost a tough match, 7-2.
Diego and Le dropped a heartbreaker in the No. 1 doubles match, 8-6. That did not deter Diego's impressive day as he was stellar in his singles match. He was dominant in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, for his second victory of the day. Le fell in straight sets against the No. 1 player for Middle Georgia State, 6-1, 6-1.
Chris Fourmaux played a thrilling singles match in the No. 6 position. After dropping a tough first set in a tiebreaker, Fourmaux took command of the match with a 6-1 victory in the second set and a 10-2 win in the tiebreak for the second Wolf Pack win.
Presti and Rumeau dropped their second doubles match of the day by a score of 8-4, before dropping their singles matches in straight sets.
Mayhall and Mercado did not find as much success as the first match, falling 8-5 and Mayhall lost his singles match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
"Although we fell a little short in our last match, it was very competitive," Russell added after the match. "I feel like we are really starting to carve out a place for ourselves in the best conference in NAIA."
The Wolf Pack will have a tough match against No. 2-ranked Auburn University-Montgomery on Saturday April 9 in Mobile, Alabama.
