Box Score
HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana men’s tennis team closed out its home schedule on a high note, posting its first-ever win over Southland Conference foe UT Arlington on Friday afternoon at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.
The Lions (11-8, 3-2) won their third straight SLC match and earned their fifth consecutive victory overall. UTA fell to 9-11 overall and 3-3 in league action.
Southeastern, which finished 7-0 at home in 2009, has bounced back from a 0-2 start to SLC play to secure a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament. According to Southeastern assistant coach
Julien Lousao, the team’s improvement in attitude and focus has translated to its performance on the court.
“The losses to UTSA and Texas-Pan American to open Southland Conference play were a wakeup call for us,” Lousao commented. “Since then, we’ve been fighting and working harder and we’ve become a closer group off the court. Our team is now playing at the high level we expect of them.”
The Lions got off to a strong start to the match by taking the doubles point. After the two teams split the matches at the bottom two positions, the point came down to the No. 1 position. After falling behind 4-1, the Lions’ No. 1 duo of junior
Benjamin Enke and
Stepan Siska – the nation’s 76th-ranked doubles pairing – rallied past UTA’s Dmirty Minkin and Mindaugas Celedinas, 8-6, to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
UTA knotted the score at 1 in singles play, as Minkin moved past Lion sophomore
Julien Roussel (7-4), 6-3, 6-4, at No. 2. The lead would be short-lived, however, as Southeastern senior
Guillaume Capovin improved his team-best singles record to 15-4 with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory over UTA’s Adam Srkala at No. 5. Capovin’s sixth straight singles win gave Southeastern a 1-0 lead.
The Lions built the lead to 3-1 at No. 4, where freshman
Damien Cordoba (12-7) bounced back from a tough first set to best David Subirats, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. At No. 1, UTA cut into the lead, as Celedinas moved past Siska (8-11), 7-6 (9-7), 6-3.
After dropping the first set at No. 3, UTA’s Brieuc Hamon built a 5-2 lead in the second set and seemed poised to force a third set. However, Enke rallied past Hamon to post a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory – his fourth straight singles triumph. The win for Enke improved his singles mark to 12-7 and clinched the victory for the Lions.
With the match decided, UTA’s Gonzalo Bienzobas earned a comeback win over Lion freshman
Jan Bezdecka (8-8). The 6-4, 1-6, 4-6 defeat was the first in conference play for Bezdecka.
The Lions return to action on Monday, facing West Florida at 2 p.m. in Pensacola, Fla.