Men's Rally Falls Short in Title Match

BEAUMONT, Texas – For the fourth consecutive year, rivals Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Lamar clashed in the Southland Conference men's tennis championship match and for a second-straight season, the Cardinals topped the Islanders 4-1 to take the title.
 
Sunday's title bout was another classic between the two rivals – a match that appeared destined for a 4-3 final had play continued. In front of a raucous home crowd, Lamar capitalized on early momentum from doubles play to build a 3-0 advantage before the Islanders mounted their comeback effort.
 
Just as it was a week ago in Corpus Christi, doubles play was separated by the thinnest of margins. The Islanders opened early leads on courts two and three while Lamar held the advantage at the top spot.
 
The Cardinals were able to win at the top, leaving the Blue and Green needing both remaining matches for the doubles point.
 
After an early 3-0 lead on court three, the Islanders were locked in a back-and-forth battle while leading on court two. It would be the third pairing where the point was decided as the Cardinals rallied back, earning a 6-4 victory to establish a 1-0 lead.
 
The early momentum from the doubles comeback propelled the Cardinals to two quick wins in singles action. Lamar earned wins on courts one and two to run its lead to 3-0.
 
At the top of the order, Islander senior Kevin Bettendroffer dropped a 6-2 first set to Michael Feucht. After rallying for a three-set victory over Feucht last week, Bettendroffer was unable to duplicate the comeback on Sunday, falling in straight sets.
 
At two, Cagatay Soke dropped a tight 7-5 first set before falling 6-2 in the second. The win at two had Lamar knocking on the doorstep of its second-straight conference title.
 
The Islanders, however, would not go down quietly.
 
Rookie Gonzalo Achondo got the Islanders on the board with a thrilling finish at number six. After rolling to a 6-2 first set victory, Achondo found himself embroiled in a battle for the second. The freshman rallied back from an early deficit and eventually entered a tiebreak. Even the seven point extra was not enough to separate the match as Achondo finally broke through for a 10-8 win and an Islanders' point.  
 
At the opposite end of the courts, senior Paul Cook shook off a sluggish 2-6 first set to force a third with a 7-5 win in the second. That put all remaining matches in the third set, giving the Islanders hope.
 
Unfortunately for the Blue and Green, the comeback would fall short as William Mottet fell in three sets. Mottet took a thrilling 7-6 first set in the tiebreak. The freshman was forced into a third set after a 4-6 second. Needing a break to keep the rally alive, the Islander got to 30-30, but dropped the game 6-3 after losing the next two points.
 
THE RUN CONTINUES
 
While the Islanders fell short of the tournament title and the automatic NCAA berth, the Blue and Green's regular season title marks a 10th in 11 years.
 
The historic run has been matched only three times in any sport in the history of the Southland Conference.
 
SEASON'S END
 
With the loss in the title match, the Blue and Green's season comes to an end in the finals of the Southland Conference tournament for a second straight season. The Islanders will return in 2017-18 aiming for a sixth straight championship match appearance.