PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. – Georgia State, Old Dominion, South Alabama and Troy battled through the quarterfinals on Thursday in the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Tennis Championship at the Peachtree City Tennis Center. Each team secured a spot in the event’s semifinal round to be contested on Friday.
Thursday’s action featured one upset in which sixth-seeded Georgia State swept third-seeded Louisiana 4-0. Regular Season Co-Champions South Alabama and Old Dominion also swept their quarterfinal matches 4-0.
The first semifinal matchup will feature Georgia State against second-seeded Old Dominion at 10 a.m. EST. Fourth-seeded Troy will face the top seed in South Alabama at 2 p.m. ESTThe matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Match 2: (6) Georgia State 4, (3) Louisiana 0
Box Score
Sixth-seeded Georgia State won early and often to pick up the upset over Louisiana in the first pair of matches.
Louisiana (12-10) was unable to score the doubles point despite the pairing of Calin Postea and William Ribero leading 5-3. The only singles matches they lead went unfinished.
Georgia State (8-15) started the match earning the doubles point as Gabriele Datei and Roberts Grinvalds defeated Kajin / Dimitrov 6-4. Diogo Morais and Diego Padilha secured the point with a 6-3 win on court two.
The Panthers used the momentum from the doubles point in singles as Morais defeated Dimitrov 6-2, 6-3 to start on court three. Edward Tymes on court five earned the 6-1, 6-3 win as Roberts Grinvalds on court two secured the upset 7-6 (7-2), 6-1.
Match 3: (2) Old Dominion 4, (7) James Madison 0
Box Score
Second-seeded Old Dominion denied seventh-seeded James Madison a point as all three singles matches that went unfinished were forced into third sets by the Monarchs.
James Madison (12-10) won three of the first sets in the singles matchups but were unable to score as all three went unfinished. Edson Sanchez forced a third set on court five after winning 6-1 as the number one doubles pairing went unfinished tied 5-5.
Old Dominion (16-9) earned the early 1-0 lead with wins on courts two and three in doubles. Luca Maldoner and Jakob Cadonau won on court two 6-3 with Francois Le Tallec and Cosme Rolland De Ravel securing the point shortly after 6-2.
Rolland De Ravel picked up the first singles point for the Monarchs on court three with a 6-4, 6-2 win. Le Tallec followed shortly after on court two with a 6-2, 6-4 victory. Maldoner secured the match on court five in the third set winning 6-4.
Match 4: (4) Troy 4, (5) Georgia Southern 2
Box Score
In the most contested matchup of the day, fourth-seeded Troy won four singles matches to advance to the semifinals.
Georgia Southern (15-8) earned the doubles point as Vito Llinares and Mario Martinez won 6-1 on court three. Aaron Williams and Pol del Castillo secured the point on court one with the 6-3 victory.
Troy (18-6) responded with three wins to take the 3-1 lead. Carles Anton (7-5, 6-2) won the match on court two as Noah Martens (6-3, 6-2) secured the second point on court four. Yeray Andres Pastor defeated Pierre Mouesca 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 on court three to give the Trojans the momentum.
Alexandros Roumpis won his singles match on court five for Georgia Southern 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) to swing the match back to 3-2. After trailing in two late, Francisco Erramuspe forced a third set for Troy winning the second 7-5.
The 2023 Player to Watch and Freshman of the Year Mario Martinez Serrano won the match for the Trojans on court one. Despite losing the first set to del Castillo 7-6 (8-6), Martinez Serrano answered with a pair of 6-4 sets to send Troy to the semifinals for the third straight year.
Match 5: (1) South Alabama 4, (9) Southern Miss 0
Box Score
Top seeded South Alabama led every match as they advanced to the semifinals.
Southern Miss finishes the season at 8-15 after advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
South Alabama (16-7) earned the doubles point with 6-3 victories from Maxime St-Hilaire and Jack Clements on court one, as well as Louis Delcour and Javier Montoya on court three. The Jaguars pair of Sebastien Collard and Martin Bugaj led 5-4, but the match was not finished.
Collard won his match on court one in 6-1, 6-2 fashion as Clements finished just behind him on court four 6-2, 6-4. Montoya secured the win on court five 6-2, 6-4 to send the Jaguars to the semifinals.