The Wolf Pack shut out Blue Mountain 5-0 but were just barely edged out by No. 13 Middle Georgia 5-4 to go 1-1 on the day.
MOBILE, Ala. - On the final day of the SSAC Roundup tournament in Mobile on Saturday, the Loyola University New Orleans men's tennis team split a pair of matches to go 4-1 for the duration of the event.
The Wolf Pack (4-3, 4-1) concluded a stretch of five conference matches in three days, the toughest of which was Saturday morning's matchup against NAIA No. 13-ranked Middle Georgia State, which was tightly contested all the way through.
"Five matches in three days is a tough ask, but overall we played very well," head coach Kyle Russell said after the completion of the SSAC Roundup. "I was proud of the way we competed against Middle Georgia State. We won two out of three doubles which is huge against that caliber of competition."
The Knights of Middle Georgia State started the day off by winning the first point in doubles play, but the Wolf Pack stormed back to take the other two matches to head into singles play with a 2-1 lead.
"Tiger Cheung (FR/Hong Kong) burst onto the scene and played some of the high level tennis that we knew he was capable of," said Russell. "He played great doubles with Sean Presti (JR/Lesigny, France) and then picked up another win in singles."
The duo of Cheung and Presti were able to tie the score after notching a win at the No. 2 doubles spot. Then the team of Galileo Cabrales (SO/San Salvador, El Salvador) and Joseph Short (FR/Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) pulled off a close 9-8 victory on court three.
The Knights tied the score back at 2-2, defeating Presti on court two, but Cheung scored a 6-3, 6-1 victory on court three to pull the Wolf Pack back ahead 3-2. Middle Georgia went back ahead 4-3 with victories on courts five and one, but then Ernesto de Diego (SR/Panama City, Panama) tied the score again at 4-4 with a 6-3, 7-6 win on court four.
"The match came down to the third set of the last court," Russell explained, as Short was in a heated match that ended in favor of the Knights to end the match at 4-5. "We didn't pull it out, but there was a lot to be optimistic about."
The second match of the day against Blue Mountain was much less of a nail-biter for the Wolf Pack, as they defeated the Toppers 5-0.
The Pack picked up wins on all three doubles courts, followed by a 6-1, 6-0 win on court four by George Fourmaux (JR/Hammond, La.) and the match-clinching 6-0, 6-1 win on court five by Sebastian Gomez (JR/Marietta, Ga.).
"Senior Captain Ricardo Mercado (SR/Miami, Fla.) stepped it up and willed the team to victory in three of the matches," Russell said, reflecting on the weekend. "Our depth was a huge asset this weekend with every healthy player on our team picking up multiple victories … The men are really starting to get some traction"
The next match for the Wolf Pack comes on March 7 when they take on No. 7-ranked William Carey in a road matchup in Hattiesburg, Miss. The conference match is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
Match One
Loyola - 4
Middle Georgia - 5
Doubles
1. Nishanth Rebello/Alejandro Prada (MG) def. Ernesto de Diego/Alexander DePascual (JR/Metairie, La.) (LOYNO) 8-3
2. Sean Presti/Tiger Cheung (LOYNO) def. Leandro Otero/Santino Romeo (MG) 8-6
3. Galileo Cabrales/Joseph Short (LOYNO) def. Octavio Tamola/Masao Perret (MG) 9-8 (4)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. Nishanth Rebello (MG) def. Galileo Cabrales (LOYNO) 6-2, 6-4
2. Octavio Tamola (MG) def. Sean Presti (LOYNO) 6-4, 6-1
3. Tiger Cheung (LOYNO) def. Leandro Otero (MG) 6-3, 6-1
4. Ernesto de Diego (LOYNO) def. Masao Perret (MG) 6-3, 7-6 (5)
5. Alejandro Prada (MG) def. Alexander DePascual (LOYNO) 6-3, 6-3
6. Santino Romeo (MG) def. Joseph Short (LOYNO) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 3, 5, 1, 4, 6
Match Two
Loyola - 5
Blue Mountain - 0
Doubles
1. Ricardo Mercado/Ernesto Telles (SO/College of St. Scholastica) (LOYNO) def. Zak Harbin/John Jimenez (BMC) 8-5
2. Jacob Abdella (FR/Broussard, La.)/Brandon Abdella (SO/Broussard, La.) (LOYNO) def. Casey Cagle/Eduardo Chagas (BMC) 8-6
3. George Fourmaux/Sebastian Gomez (LOYNO) def. Eli Puckett/Dylan Austin (BMC) 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. Ernesto Telles (LOYNO) vs. John Jimenez (BMC) 6-1, 3-3, unfinished
2. Jacob Abdella (LOYNO) vs. Zak Harbin (BMC) 5-4, unfinished
3. Brandon Abdella (LOYNO) vs. Eduardo Chagas (BMC) 4-6, unfinished
4. George Fourmaux (LOYNO) def. Zaen Harbin (BMC) 6-1, 6-0
5. Sebastian Gomez (LOYNO) def. Casey Cagle (BMC) 6-0, 6-1
6. Ricardo Mercado (LOYNO) vs. Eli Puckett (BMC) 6-2, 4-0, unfinished
Order of finish: 4, 5
