Troy Opens Sun Belt Men’s Tennis Tournament Friday

Friday, April 19

Rome, Ga.

1 p.m.

Troy University

Georgia State

Photo by: Brady Fitch

Troy Opens Sun Belt Men’s Tennis Tournament Friday

4/18/2024 3:54:00 PM | Tennis (M)

SBC Tournament Central Watch Live Live Stats

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Troy men's tennis opens its postseason run Friday at 1 p.m. against third-seeded Georgia State in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga.

Troy (19-6, 4-4 SBC) enters the Sun Belt Tournament as the number six seed despite finishing in a three-way tie for fourth place in the league; South Alabama took the fourth seed due to having the highest national ranking and Louisiana grabbed the fifth seed due to its head-to-head victory over the Trojans (Troy's only home loss of the season).

"We are ready for a big battle against a good team from Georgia State," head coach Rolando Vargas said. "We played them in Atlanta a couple of weeks back, and they were a team that took advantage of their opportunities. We are prepared and know what to expect. It will come down to one or two points, and it is going to be a great challenge."

A victory over the Panthers (10-12, 5-3) would propel the Trojans into the Sun Belt semifinals for a third straight year. Troy is looking to avenge an earlier loss to Georgia State, where the Panthers won four singles matches after the Trojans took the doubles play.

Troy is led by sophomore Mario Martinez Serrano, who was named the Sun Belt Player to Watch and first team All-SBC in singles for a second straight year. He was responsible for Troy's lone singles point in the first match with the Panthers and carries a 23-2 record into the Sun Belt Tournament.

Troy has won 70.5 percent of its singles matches overall as a team and carries a 19-17 record against Sun Belt competition into the weekend. Noah Martens and Yeray Andres Pastor are both 4-2 in league play and have a combined 34-9 record for the year.

Despite winning the doubles point and losing the match to Georgia State earlier, that has certainly been the exception to the rule as the Trojans are 19-2 this year when winning the doubles points (Louisiana was the other match).

Vargas will lean heavily on All-Sun Belt duo Carles Anton and Pastor on court two, who posted a 10-1 record as a pair and 6-1 mark in Sun Belt play. Troy's doubles teams won 74 percent of their matches in league play as Martinez and Luciano Alcocer were 7-1 on court three.

The winner will take on the winner of the Old Dominion and Southern Miss match in Saturday's semifinal.