Men's Tennis 3/14/2016 1:03:00 PM

UNA TENNIS SPLITS WITH ALABAMA STATE

MONTGOMERY – Less than 24 hours after a late night match against West Alabama in Huntsville, the University of North Alabama men's and women's tennis teams split a pair of matches in Montgomery against Alabama State. The UNA men rallied to edge the Division I Hornets 4-3 while the women's team came up short by a 6-1 score.

The victory for the men's team is the sixth straight as the Lions improve to 7-2 on the season. Using the Division I format of a single point being awarded for doubles play in a regular set to six, UNA used a fast start to take an early lead.

Miguel Garcia and Taylor Ausbon got the first win of the day at No. 3 doubles, posting a 6-3 victory. Max Druppel and Benjamin Poire then clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles.

Alabama State quickly evened the match at 1-1 with a win due to injury at No. 1 singles. The Hornets then increased their lead to 3-1 with wins at No. 2 and No. 5 singles, forcing UNA to sweep the final three matches to get the win.

The comeback started with Druppel in a dominant 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles. The final two matches were tied in the third set when the Lions dug in. Poire trailed 3-2 in the third set before rallying for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles. With the scored tied at 3-3, Javier Cordero found himself tied at 5-5 in the third set at No. 6 singles. The sophomore from Alicante, Spain, settled down and won the final two games for a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 win to clinch the match for the Lions.

"Wow, what a way to win," said UNA head tennis coach Brice Bishop. "I rested Brendon (Millington-Herrmann) today and that gave Javier a chance and he came up huge. I am very proud of this team."

The UNA women's team was never able to recover from an early deficit in the 6-1 loss. Olivera Ngouabeu and Donna Haycock, won an impressive 6-3 match at No. 1 doubles. But the Hornets were able to take the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3. ASU then won five of the six singles matches.

"You could tell we didn't have the energy we needed to beat a tough team," said Bishop. "But I did see some things that I liked. We are getting better."

Alabama State quickly increased its lead with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles before clinching the match at No. 6. UNA also came up short at No. 5 singles and lost a three-set decision at the top spot. The Lions did get a point when Nele Seitz posted an impressive 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles.

"Getting in at 1 a.m. and losing an hour of sleep with the time change, I didn't really know what to expect," added Bishop. "Overall, I was pleased with our fight today. Even when we didn't play great, we fought hard, and that's a sign of progress."

The UNA women are scheduled to play at UAB on Tuesday. Both UNA tennis teams will be in action on Friday at Rhodes College.

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Ausbon: Sophomore

Javier Cordero: Sophomore

Max Druppel: Junior

Miguel Garcia: Sophomore

Benjamin Poire: Graduate Student

Olivera Ngouabeu: Junior

Donna Haycock: Sophomore

Nele Seitz: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Taylor Ausbon
: Sophomore

Javier Cordero
: Sophomore

Max Druppel
: Junior

Miguel Garcia
: Sophomore

Benjamin Poire
: Graduate Student

Olivera Ngouabeu
: Junior

Donna Haycock
: Sophomore

Nele Seitz
: Freshman