Troy Men’s Tennis Opens Sun Belt Tournament Thursday

TROY, Ala. – Backed by the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and Player to Watch, the Troy men's tennis team opens the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday against Georgia Southern. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. at the Peachtree City Tennis Center in Peachtree City, Ga.

The Trojans enter as the No. 4 seed after finishing in a three-way tie with Georgia State and Georgia Southern for the four spot in the standings. Troy won the tiebreaker due to winning a combined seven matches against the two Georgia schools.

The meeting with the fifth-seeded Eagles is a rematch from less than two weeks ago when the Trojans won a 4-2 decision on Troy's Senior Day. The win started a run of three straight Troy victories to end the regular season, including two Sun Belt matches and at Augusta, one of the top Division II schools in the country.

The Trojans are led by a pair of All-Sun Belt selections in singles after freshman Mario Martinez Serrano and junior Carles Anton earned the honor on Tuesday. It was Anton's third straight All-Sun Belt award and second consecutive first team honor. Additionally, Martinez was named the league's Freshman of the Year and Player to Watch (the top vote-getter for Player of the Year with remaining eligibility).

Martinez led the league with 19 wins, with 18 coming on court one. He finished his first run through a Sun Belt schedule with a 6-1 record, his only loss coming to the Sun Belt's Player of the Year. Anton was the league's top player at No. 2 with a 15-4 record on the court and 16-4 overall.

"They have stepped up at the right times and been excellent leaders for our team," head coach Rolando Vargas said. "Carles has been in this situation before and really helped Mario understand his role. They've really clicked playing next to each other this year."

The Trojans (17-6, 4-4) have succeeded this season because of the balance throughout their lineup. Yeray Andres Pastor, another freshman in Troy's lineup, has settled into the No. 3 spot and has played to a 7-4 mark on the court to boast his overall 14-7 record.

Noah Martens is 7-2 on court four and 12-4 overall this spring, while Vito Llinares is 13-7 and Francisco Erramuspe is 8-5 on the year but has posted a 6-2 mark since moving to court six.

"There are a lot of guys on our team who could have been all-conference selections this season," Vargas said. "We have to have balance throughout the lineup and compete. The matches this week are going to be decided on the bottom courts, and our guys have played well this season."
Troy was competitive throughout the Sun Belt schedule finishing with a .500 record, with its four losses all coming by a 4-3 margin, three of which came against teams that finished in the top three of the standings.

"It shows the depth of the league," Vargas said. "We were very close in those matches and created opportunities to win, but at the end of the day, we must execute a little better to take advantage of the opportunities. We've learned a lot and turned it around at the end of the season. The guys have shown reliance and matured as the season has progressed."

While just one point of a possible seven, the doubles point has been a key tipping point for the Trojans this season. Troy is 3-1 in league play when winning the doubles point and 1-3 when losing the opening point of the match.

"The doubles point could be the key factor for us to keep moving forward in the bracket," Vargas said. "We've tried a lot of different combinations, and the one we're going to use in the tournament is going to be the one that makes us more balanced in all the spots. But I also feel we're capable of winning without the doubles point because of our strength in singles."

Georgia Southern (15-7, 4-4) lost three of its final four matches of the season after a strong start to Sun Belt play that had the Eagles ranked in the top 75 nationally. The Eagles boast a pair of All-SBC players in singles with one on the first team and one on the second team.

Troy Men’s Tennis Opens Sun Belt Tournament Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Yeray Andres Pastor

Carles Anton

Francisco Erramuspe

Vito Llinares

Noah Martens

Mario Martinez Serrano

Troy University Athletics