Troy University Athletics
Trojans Move to Championship Match
4/25/2010 1:00:00 AM | Tennis
NEW ORLEANS - The 61st-ranked Troy University men's tennis team found themselves in a dog fight with Florida Atlantic University for the third time this season, but this time the stakes were a little higher - a berth in the Sun Belt Conference championship match.
"Tonight's match was a battle," Troy head coach Eric Hayes said. "We got down early and we were able to get back into it, not sure how we did it but we did. I was frustrated with them after doubles since we took them lightly. I challenged them after that and we came through that.
"We got down a couple of singles points and our backs were against the wall. Our two top players got us back in it, and showed the heart and soul of a champion. After we won it, there was no celebration, it was all business as we know what we came here for."
Troy (19-4) lost the doubles point and the first singles match (number six) to fall behind quickly to the Owls, 2-0.
In doubles play, the Trojans were unable to overcome the pressure of Florida Atlantic as they fell at both number two and number three. Meanwhile, Florida Atlantic took what many thought would be insurmontable at 2-0 when Matthew Braunworth defeated Troy's Guilherme Sahadi 6-3, 6-4.
That is when things turned for the Trojans as they were able to win the next two singles matches to event the overall match at 2-all.
Troy's Xavier Masson brought the Trojans closer with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Joshua Scholl; before Mario Rolemberg tied the match at with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Florida Atlantic's Greg Matchske.
Then the interesting portion of the match began.
Troy's Branko Weber was up a set and serving 5-4 in the second, while teammate Aurelien Tave was down a set and down 4-1 in the second. A win by Weber by would end the match for the Trojans, but things took an interesting turn for both teams.
Weber ended up losing the second set, while Tave fought off three match points in the second set at 5-4 to win the set and force a third set. Every point in the two matches were met with anticipation of which one would be the turning point of the match and send the winner to the championship match of the conference.
At number three, Weber found himself in the third set tied at 6-all and facing three match points. However, Tave ended all the drama for both teams after 4 hours and 49 minutes by winning his match at number two in three sets.
With the victory, the Trojans advance to the championship match to face nationally-ranked Denver with a berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
"They are a very strong team after a quick turnaround," Hayes said. "We have to be up early and get their legs back under them. We have been working hard since August for this opportunity, so sleep is the last thing we are thinking about tonight. In the fall, getting up at 5 in the morning to run this is what we work for. We have that opportunity and I can't wait until tomorrow for the match."
The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the tournament.
(61) Troy 4, Florida Atlantic 2
Saturday, April 24, 2010
New Orleans, LA (University Tennis Courts)
Singles
1. Luis Henrique Grangeiro (TROY) def. Abdelnour, Marc (FAU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Aurelien Tave (TROY) def. Harradine, Lawrence (FAU) 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
3. Branko Weber (TROY) vs. Garibovic, Ervin (FAU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-6 (7-8), unfinished
4. Xavier Masson (TROY) def. Scholl, Joshua (FAU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Mario Rolemberg (TROY) def. Matschke, Georg (FAU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Braunworth, Matthew (FAU) def. Guilherme Sahadi (TROY) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
1. Luis Henrique Grangeiro/ Mario Rolemberg (TROY) def. Matschke, Georg/Harradine, Lawrence (FAU) 7-6
2. Garibovic, Ervin/Scholl, Joshua (FAU) def. Branko Weber/ Xavier Masson (TROY) 8-5
3. Braunworth, Matthew/Abdelnour, Marc (FAU) def. Guilherme Sahadi/ Anas Rouchdi (TROY) 8-3
Match Notes
Florida Atlantic 13-9
Troy University 19-4; National ranking #61
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,1,6,4,2)
No. 2 Troy, No. 3 FAU
SBC Semifinals
Troy advances to face Denver at 10 a.m. on Saturday in SBC finals