The underdog Alabama State University Hornets didn't play like the underdog in pushing top-seeded Alcorn State to the limit, but the Hornets fell 4-2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Men's Tennis Championship.
"I couldn't have been happier with the way the guys played today," Head Coach
Anuk Christiansz said. "They played as hard as they could and we just came up one man short. You have to give Alcorn State a great deal of credit. They are an incredibly strong team and they showed that today. They play hard and smart and have great leadership that starts with their coach who is truly one of the good guys and is a class act."
ASU went into singles play after gaining the doubles point, but Alcorn showed the grit that led them to an undefeated conference season by winning at one, five and six singles to turn their deficit into a 3-1 lead.
With three matches still on the courts ASU was able to pull within one at 3-2 when
Adam Coyne won in straight sets at four singles. It was a tough match for Coyne who had to withdraw in yesterday's semifinals due to injury.
The match came down to two and three singles where
Ronald Mataba had battled to a two-all tie in the third set and that left Takura Mlamba at three singles. Mlamba had fallen 6-3 in the first set but had battled back in the second set and had a 5-3 lead, but could not take advantage of his lead as Alcorn was able to win the final four games for the 7-5 win.
"We just came up a little short in singles, but they played as hard as they could," Christiansz said. "I am not sure anyone gave us much of a chance to push Alcorn the way we did, but you just have to give the guys credit. They fought through another long, hot match after yesterday's match that took a lot out of them."
The Hornets started the day off winning the doubles point in three hotly contested matches. Digivijay Naruka and
Takura Mlambo built a 4-1 lead at three doubles only to see Alcorn fight back to even the match at five. From there Naruka and Mlambo used a service break into winning the final three games for the 8-5 win.
The Hornets held a slim 7-6 lead at two doubles, but it was the one team of
Dylan Cleary and
Jarred Thompson who fought a service break to win the break back and finish off the doubles point with an 8-6 win.
"We came out in doubles and played strong and with a lot of confidence," Christiansz said. "All three doubles matches were close and the guys found a way to pull out the wins. It was fun to watch them play with that confidence and to make shots the way they did."
ASU finishes its third season under Christiansz with an 8-13 overall record and the program's first visit to the SWAC Championship game. It is something that has the coaches excited about the future.
"This is the first time an ASU men's team has made it to the conference finals and we now know how close we are to breaking through,' Chrisitansz said. "We are excited about the future and what it holds for the Hornets and we know it is going to be a fun journey."
Alcorn State 4, Alabama State University 2
Apr 27, 2014 at New Orleans, La. (City Park Pepsi Tennis Center)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Ernesto Santillan (ASU) def. Dylan Cleary (ALST) 6-0, 6-3 |
| 2. Lucas Morviac (ASU) vs. Ronald Mataba (ALST) 2-6, 6-3, 2-2, unfinished |
| 3. Nischay Rawal (ASU) def. Takura Mlambo (ALST) 6-3, 7-5 |
| 4. Adam Coyne (ALST) def. Maxim Tkachenko (ASU) 6-2, 6-4 |
| 5. Nikita Kostikov (ASU) def. Jarred Thompson (ALST) 6-2, 6-2 |
| 6. Garry Singh Amor (ASU) def. Stefan Vojnic (ALST) 6-3, 6-3 |
| Match Notes |
| Alabama State University 8-13 |
| Alcorn State 10-8 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,5,6,4,3) |
| T-3:05 A-70 |
-Hornets-
