Storm Men's Tennis 2-1 In Midweek Matchups

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern cruised to a pair of Tuesday victories, downing Jacksonville College 7-0 and Arkansas-Fort Smith 6-1 before dropping a Wednesday contest to No. 45 Midwestern State at the Southeastern Tennis Complex.
 
The 2-1 run moves the Savage Storm to 8-5 overall on the season, but the team sees a six-match winning streak come to an end.
 
"The men did well on Tuesday," said head coach Brian Nelson, "Taking care of business in wins over Jacksonville College and UAFS, were proud of them. We only dropped one match on a very cold and windy day. Wednesday against Midwestern State, we did well early by getting the doubles point against an always tough Midwestern team, but were only able to get one singles win with George Botha winning at #3 singles. We lost in three sets at line #1 singles and #6 singles, which if won could have made the difference for a team win but weren't able to get it. Again we are playing very close with teams above us and nationally ranked, but we have to find a way to get these close ones.
 
Versus Jacksonville College, SE jumped to a 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point thanks to a 6-3 win at number one by Stipan Madzar and Manuel Pilotto, followed by a 6-0 win at number two.
 
Pilotto followed that up with a 7-5, 6-3 win at number one, while Gen Naraya added a 6-0, 6-0 win at number two for a 3-0 lead.
 
David Gonzalez picked up a 6-2, 7-5 win at number three to secure the victory and Kganya Ranamane closed out the run with a 6-3, 6-1 win at number four. SE would take walkover wins at five and six to complete the 7-0 sweep.
 
SE carried its momentum into the matchup with UAFS, picking up the doubles point with Madzar and Thabo Ncube earning a 6-3 win at number two followed by a 6-1 win by Del Rosario and Pilotto at number three.
 
Pilotto stretched the lead to 2-0 with a brisk 6-2, 6-3 win at one singles, with Naraya following at number four with a 6-3, 6-2 win to take a 3-0 lead.
 
UAFS would get one back at number five, but Madzar would cut any thoughts os a rally short with a 6-2, 6-3 win at number two to take a 4-1 lead.
 
George Botha followed up with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-0 win at number three while Ncbube picked up a 4-6, 6-4, 7-3 win at number six to finish off the 6-1 win.
 
Versus MSU, the Storm jumped out to a 1-0 lead after picking up a win in the doubles point.
 
Madzar and Ncube turned in a 7-6 (5) win at number two, while Del Rosario and Pilotto added a 6-3 win at number three.
 
However, in singles play only George Botha was able to earn a victory, picking up a 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 win at number three.
 
The Storm forced third sets at one and six and saw the second set at number five go to a tiebreaker, but SE was ultimately unable to convert those to points in a 5-2 loss.