Trojans Fall in Regular Season Finale

Saturday, April 13

Atlanta, Ga.

12:00 p.m.

Troy University

Georgia State

Photo by: Cass Davis

4/13/2013 4:04:00 PM | Tennis (M)

By: Matt Mays

ATLANTA – The Troy men's tennis team dropped its regular season finale on Saturday, falling to Sun Belt frontrunner Georgia State on the road, 5-2. The Trojans now turn their attention to next week's Sun Belt Championships, which begin on Thursday in Lafayette, La.

Troy (8-16), who has now dropped four straight matches to close the regular season, faced a tough task in a Georgia State (12-10) team that features a ranked doubles team, a ranked singles player and a couple of ranked wins.

“We played one of the top teams in the conference and came up just a bit short,” Troy head coach Eric Hayes said. “If everyone can show up on Thursday a favorable outcome is possible. We need more than a couple of guys battling.”

The Trojans fell at first and third doubles to drop the doubles point, despite Patrick Eichler and Anas Rouchdi winning at second doubles, 6-4, when the point was clinched.

Despite the rough doubles point, the Trojans made it a match in singles play, nearly pulling off the needed four wins. The Trojans won two singles matches, lost two in three sets and lost one due to a retirement.

Troy fell into a 3-0 hole with the retirement at second singles and a straight-set loss at first singles, but rebounded with two wins to pull within one. Andre Stabile won at fifth singles, 6-2, 6-4, while Sami Ghorbel won at third singles, 6-3, 6-4, to make the score 3-2.

With Troy needing both of the matches left on the courts to win, Daniel Bustamante and Eichler each erased first set losses with second set wins to forced third sets. However, Eichler at sixth singles and Bustamante at fourth singles both lost. Complete results are below.

The Trojans will be back on the court on Thursday at the Sun Belt Championships in Lafayette, La. Official seeds are expected to be announced on Monday.

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.

Georgia State 5, Troy 2

Singles competition
1. #76 Victor Valente (GSU) def. Anas Rouchdi (TROY) 6-0, 6-1
2. Thomas Cook (GSU) def. Mansingh Athare (TROY) 6-2, retired
3. Sami Ghorbel (TROY) def. Robert Schulze (GSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Lucas Santa Ana (GSU) def. Daniel Bustamante (TROY) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
5. Andre Stabile (TROY) def. Andrew Zedde (GSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Sofiane Chevallier (GSU) def. Patrick Eichler (TROY) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. #44 Victor Valente/Lucas Santa Ana (GSU) def. Mansingh Athare/Sami Ghorbel (TROY) 8-2
2. Robert Schulze/Sofiane Chevallier (GSU) vs. Patrick Eichler/Anas Rouchdi (TROY) 4-6, unfinished
3. Thomas Cook/Paul Schuette (GSU) def. Tommy Cundy/Andre Stabile (TROY) 8-2

Match Notes
Troy 8-16
Georgia State 12-10
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,1,5,3,6,4)
T-3:31 A-55