Troy Downs Georgia Southern, 4-2, in SBC Men’s Tennis Quarterfinals

Thursday, April 20

Peachtree City, Ga.

1 p.m.

Troy University

Georgia Southern

Troy Downs Georgia Southern, 4-2, in SBC Men’s Tennis Quarterfinals

4/20/2023 5:11:00 PM | Tennis (M)

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Troy Athletics Communications

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. – Mario Martinez Serrano showed the league Thursday why he was named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and Sun Belt Player to Watch as he rallied for a thrilling three-set victory on court one to lift Troy past Georgia Southern, 4-2, in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.

"Congrats to Georgia Southern, they are such a great team, and they are a class act," Troy head coach Rolando Vargas said. "Them taking the doubles point was significant and put us on the brink of losing. Coming into singles, we knew we had to win some first sets, and it really came down to deuce points. Hats off to Fran on court six for extending his match and putting pressure on them. We're going to celebrate, but we have to get ready for a match against a really good South Alabama team tomorrow."

After dropping an 8-6 decision in the opening tiebreaker, Martinez never trailed in the second set and broke at 4-all before holding serve with a 5-4 advantage to take the second set and even the match.

He fell behind 2-0 and 3-1 one in the deciding third set before breaking and holding serve to get the set back to 3-all. Pol Del Castillo held serve to take a 4-3 lead, and Martinez did the same to tie the set at 4-all. Martinez then broke Del Castillo to go up 5-4 and rallied from down 15-40 to win the set 6-4 and clinch the match for the Trojans.

No. 4 Troy (18-6) had to play from behind after No. 5 Georgia Southern (15-8) took the doubles point with victories on courts one and two. The Trojans entered the Sun Belt Tournament just 1-3 in league matches when dropping the doubles point.

All-Sun Belt First Team selection Carles Anton quickly tied the match with a 7-5, 6-2 win on court two to improve to 17-4. Noah Martens finished 21 minutes later on court four to give the Trojans a lead it would not relinquish. Martens won 6-3, 6-2 after falling behind 2-0 in the opening set.

Troy's other freshman, Yeray Andres Pastor, pulled the Trojans within a point of victory, winning 7-6 (4), 6-4 on court three. Both players broke serve after the match was tied at 4-all in the opening set before holding serve to force the tiebreak. Pastor raced out to a 5-2 advantage before claiming the critical first set.

On court six, Francisco Erramuspe bounced back from dropping a 6-2 opening set to win 7-5 in set two and hold a 4-0 advantage in the third set. His second set victory took some of the pressure off Martinez on the top court as he kept the Eagles at just two points. Erramuspe trailed 5-3 in the second before breaking serve and holding to tie the match at 5-all. He then found himself down 15-40 before rallying to take a 6-5 advantage and then cruised in the next game to complete the set victory.

Troy will make its third straight appearance in the Sun Belt Semifinals and will match up against No. 1 South Alabama for the second time in those three trips. The Jags escaped with a 4-3 victory over Troy in their only meeting this season, on April 2 in Mobile.