Trojans Drop Marathon Match at FAU

Sunday, February 3

Boca Raton, Fla.

11:00 a.m.

Troy University

Florida Atlantic

Photo by: Troy University

2/3/2013 4:09:00 PM | Tennis (M)

By: Matt Mays

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Troy men's tennis team had a chance to snap a three-game losing streak, but the Trojans dropped a near five-hour match at Florida Atlantic on Sunday, 4-3.

Troy (1-4, 0-1) got off on the right foot, winning the doubles point with wins at the first and third spots in the lineup, despite dropping the second doubles match to open the day.

Sami Ghorbel and Andre Stabile won at first doubles to clinch the point, winning in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (4). A win by Mansingh Athare and Patrick Eichler at third doubles set up the clincher, as the Trojan duo won, 8-4.

In singles play, Florida Atlantic (1-3, 1-0) won at the first and third spots in the lineup to take a 2-1 lead. However, Troy then won at fifth singles and fourth singles to retake the lead.

At fifth singles, Ghorbel won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, and at fourth singles, Daniel Bustamante won a three-set match, 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-1.

With the Trojans leading 3-2, Tadju Davies had a chance to clinch the match for Troy as he led 5-4 in the third set. However, Davies, in his first singles match of the year, fell, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5, allowing the Owls to tie the match at 3-3.

Florida Atlantic took another three-set match in the clincher as the Owls' Jose Fantova defeated Troy's Anas Rouchdi, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3. Complete match results are below.

Troy returns to the court on Saturday as the Trojans open their home schedule with Southern Miss visiting the Lunsford Tennis Complex. The match will begin at 1 p.m.

For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or on Facebook at Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.

Florida Atlantic 4, Troy 3

Singles competition
1. Neuner, Will (FAU) def. Andre Stabile (TROY) 6-0, 6-1
2. Fantova, Jose (FAU) def. Anas Rouchdi (TROY) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3
3. M.-Kougoucheff, A. (FAU) def. Mansingh Athare (TROY) 6-1, 6-4
4. Daniel Bustamante (TROY) def. Meade, Richard (FAU) 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-1
5. Sami Ghorbel (TROY) def. Samberg, Matthew (FAU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Dubuque, Robert (FAU) def. Tadju Davies (TROY) 6-0, 4-6, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. Ghorbel/Stabile (TROY) def. Fantova/Meade (FAU) 8-7 (7-4)
2. Sean Bacha/Neuner (FAU) def. Daniel Bustamante/Anas Rouchdi (TROY) 8-4
3. Mansingh Athare/Patrick Eichler (TROY) def. Dubuque/M.-Kougoucheff (FAU) 8-4

Match Notes
Troy 1-4, 0-1
Florida Atlantic 1-3, 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,3,5,4,6,2)