Taylor Boydstun
Staff Writer
The Troy men’s tennis team hosted three matches on Sunday, April 10, winning against Florida A&M but falling to South Alabama and No. 51 Georgia State.
In addition to the competition at the Lunsford Tennis Complex in Troy, Alabama, the Trojans (15-13, 1-3 Sun Belt) honored seniors Daniel Bustamante and Giovani Samaha.
Prior to Saturday, Bustamante held an 8-8 record in his singles play, mostly at the No. 1 seed, with seven of the eight losses coming from ranked opponents. Samaha was 10-8 this spring in singles play, and 18-11 for the year.
Sunday was a long day for the Trojans, as they hosted South Alabama at 10 a.m., Florida A&M at 12 p.m., and No. 51 Georgia State at 3 p.m. These matches wrapped up the regular season for the men before they head to the Sun Belt Championships.
Prior to the matches, Troy had won four straight matches and 10 out of its last 11.
The men lost two of their three matches. They came close to beating South Alabama (12-11, 0-1 Sun Belt), but came up short with a 4-3 loss. This was a noteworthy match not only because it was Troy’s first loss in five matches, but also because it was South Alabama’s first win in five matches.
The match kept fans on the edge of their seats, as it eventually came down to a third-set tiebreaker. Sophomore Andy Lau won three sets at No. 4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and tied the match at 3-3, which left the decision up to the players at match No. 3. Unfortunately, Samaha fell in his last regular season match which was close, ending at 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).
The Trojan men claimed a 5-0 victory over Florida A&M, which won four of its most recent five matches, all four of which were MEAC matches. Freshman Filip Mansson, sophomore Andre Baldo, sophomore Calum McKinaly, and freshman Tomas Fernandez each won their singles matches against Florida A&M players.
Baldo performed well the remainder of the day, winning doubles matches in all three contests. His doubles with Lau sealed the Trojans’ opening point, but the Georgia State Panthers (15-4, 2-0) ultimately dominated singles play to grab the 4-1 win over Troy.
This marked Georgia State’s seventh straight match and continued its No. 51 ITA National Team Ranking.
The Trojans will now begin preparing for the Sun Belt Conference Championship tournament, which begins on Thursday, April 21, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
