Women’s team

After their upset of Louisiana in the first round of the Women’s Tournament, the Georgia Southern women’s tennis team saw their season come to a close at the hands of Troy Friday.

The Eagles fell behind 1-0 after dropping the doubles matches, and saw things increasingly get worse in the early goings of singles play when the Trojans were able to extend their lead to 3-0.

Sophomore Paula Boixader dropped her first set in singles, but battled back to take her match to cut the Troy lead to 3-1.

Freshman Mila Hartig made it a 3-2 contest after picking up a clutch victory on court 6, but that would prove to be all the Eagles had left in the tank.

Troy clinched the match with another singles victory and claimed the 4-2 victory over the Eagles.

The loss ends what was one of the most successful seasons in Georgia Southern program history, where they end the year with a 14-7 overall record, and can look forward to returning 7 out of the 8 girls that played this season.

Men’s team

Friday afternoon marked the end of the Georgia Southern men’s tennis team’s season, where they were defeated 4-3 in heartbreaking fashion by Troy in the Sun Belt Championship Tournament.

The day started as well as the Eagles could have hoped for in doubles play, where they were able to claim wins on both courts and head into the singles matches leading the Trojans 1-0.

Sophomores Stefano Di Aloy and Murphy Mccullough carried on the blue and white’s momentum, extending the Eagle lead to 3-0 following their victories in their respective matchups.

GS needed just one more point to clinch their victory, but the Trojans were not backing down, they battled back from behind, gathering up enough points with their late singles victories to send the Eagles home with a loss.

The loss marked the end of 13-13 season for the Eagles, but one in which they can be proud of, defeating rivals, specifically Georgia State, who they had not beaten in over 20 years. 

“I am very proud of my team and what they have achieved this year,” Head Coach Sander Koning told gseagles. “After a rocky start they made a decision to turn their season around.”

Koning was also named Sun Belt Co-Coach of the Year this season, his fourth with the team. 

Ryan Pye, The George-Anne Sports Candidate, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu