HATTIESBURG, Miss. – After one of the toughest battles Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis has faced in the 2016 season, the Islanders dropped a second consecutive road match, falling 4-2 at Southern Miss.
The Islanders rebounded from a bit of a disappointing performance at Louisiana-Lafayette, fighting tooth and nail at every spot of the lineup, but the Golden Eagles were able to outlast the Blue and Green for the victory.
DOUBLES FALL
After falling in their doubles match Wednesday afternoon, the top Islander pairing of Kevin Bettendroffer and Arthur Bedel produced a strong start, rolling past Daniel Merker and Tarun Surat 6-1.
At No. 2, however, the Golden Eagles were able to draw even. The duo of Ricardo Mayagoitia and Guillaume Rauseo fell to Southern Miss pairing Chao-Yu Huang and Wen-Po Tseng, 6-2, to level the doubles point.
Coming down to the No. 3 pairing, the Islander duo of Paul Cook and Mitchell Cook fell in a hard fought match to USM's Mikhail Esipov and Jorman Reyes. With the win on court three, the Golden Eagles took the doubles point and a 1-0 advantage.
SINGLES BATTLES
Top-to-bottom, the Islanders put in tremendous effort on the courts Thursday afternoon. At No. 1, Bettendroffer won a fifth consecutive match, defeating Surat 6-4, 6-2. The five consecutive singles victories marks the longest streak by any Islander this season.
The Islanders also took the point at No. 2 as Mayagoitia emerged victorious in a slugfest with Wen-Po Tseng. The Islander junior took the match in three sets, winning 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-5.
At No. 3 and No. 4, the Golden Eagles snagged a pair of points as Rauseo and Cook fell in a pair of tough battles. Rauseo was defeated 6-2, 6-2 while Cook dropped his fight 6-4, 7-5.
That left the match hanging in the balance on courts five and six, where two of the best matches of the day were played out. Both Bedel and freshman Carlos Pedrosa fought their way into hotly contested three-set matches, but in the end, Pedrosa fell 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to Rakshit Rishi who clinched the match for the Golden Eagles.
Bedel, meanwhile, was trailing 6-5 in the third when play was halted.
UP NEXT
The men continue their six-match stretch away from the Coastal Bend on Tuesday, as the Islanders travel to Prairie View for a 2 p.m. first serve.
MOORE'S MIND
On today's effort…
"Very proud of the tenacity and fight all six guys and all three doubles teams showed today. If every guy competes this hard and with energy, we have a very exciting and promising season ahead of us."
On what his team showed today…
"Sustained winning is about character and this team showed a lot of character after a loss to get back up the next day and compete this hard. We are learning a lot and I'm proud of how hard these guys have fought today."
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Tennis Match Results
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs Southern Miss
2/18/2016 at Hattiesburg, Miss.
Southern Miss 4, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2
Singles competition:
1. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) def. Tarun Surat (USMM) 6-4, 6-2
2. Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) def. Wen-Po Tseng (USMM) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-5
3. Chao-Yu Huang (USMM) def. Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) 6-2, 6-2
4. Jorman Reyes (USMM) def. Paul Cook (AMCC) 6-4, 7-5
5. Daniel Merker (USMM) vs. Arthur Bedel (AMCC) 5-7, 7-5, 6-5, unfinished
6. Rakshit Rishi (USMM) def. Carlos Pedrosa (AMCC) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Doubles competition:
1. Kevin Bettendroffer/Arthur Bedel (AMCC) def. Daniel Merker/Tarun Surat (USMM) 6-1
2. Chao-Yu Huang/Wen-Po Tseng (USMM) def. Ricardo Mayagoitia/Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) 6-2
3. Mikhail Esipov/Jorman Reyes (USMM) def. Paul Cook/Mitchell Cook (AMCC) 6-3
Match Notes:
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 7-4
Southern Miss 6-3
