No. 24 Loyola moves past Mobile into SSAC semifinal

MOBILE, Ala. – The No. 24 Loyola Wolf Pack men's tennis team began the 2025 Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Championship on Thursday. After beating the University of Mobile Rams to close out the regular season on Saturday, the Pack once again triumphed over the Rams, 4-1 on Thursday. 

With the opening-round win, Loyola's men's tennis team (8-9, 3-3 SSAC) advanced to the semifinal of the SSAC Championship for the first time under head coach Matt Llewellyn. The Pack last got to the semifinals in 2019. 

Loyola got the job done in doubles to start Thursday's match. After the Rams won at court 3 doubles, Remus Hebhang-Balan and Samuel Motazed won 6-3 at the No. 1 spot, and Sam Izrael and Jett Nguyen followed with a 7-5 win at No. 2 doubles to clinch.

Hebhang-Balan carried momentum into singles competition, earning a solid 6-0, 6-2 result at No. 1 singles. Jett Nguyen also won in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5 on court 6 to put the Pack up 3-0 in the match. 

The Rams got their first point in the team score with a comeback win on court 3, but the Wolf Pack were able to close things out on court 5. Alfredo Gallegos came back from a set down to win his match, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch it for the Pack. 

In Friday's semifinal, fourth-seeded Loyola will face top seed William Carey for a spot in the final. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Mobile Tennis Center. Carey won the last matchup between the two teams, 5-2 on April 2. 

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Results

No. 24 Loyola – 4

Mobile – 1

Doubles
1. Hebhang-Balan/Motazed (LOYNO) def. Finke/Dickson (UM) 6-3
2. Izrael/Nguyen (LOYNO) def. Arias/Perez (UM) 7-5
3. Reina/Ruiz (UM) def. De Preville/Gallegos (LOYNO) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles
1. Remus Hebhang-Balan (LOYNO) def. Leon Finke (UM) 6-0, 6-2
2. Sam Izrael (LOYNO) vs. #56 Martin Jeanne (UM) 6-4, 6-7 (8-10), 1-0, unfinished 
3. Callum Dickson (UM) def. Hippolyte de Preville (LOYNO) 2-6, 6-0, 6-1
4. Spencer Matz (LOYNO) vs. Sergio Ruiz Ramiro (UM) 3-6, 7-5, 0-1, unfinished
5. Alfredo Gallegos (LOYNO) def. Youssef Fazazi (UM) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
6. Jett Nguyen (LOYNO) def. Santiago Reina (UM) 6-1, 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 6, 3, 5