The Stetson men's tennis team dropped a tightly contested match on Friday afternoon at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center. Ranked 68th in the nation, Georgia State defeated the Hatters by a score of 4-3.
“This was a great college tennis match, with the outcome being decided on the last court,” Stetson associate head coach Christophe Noblet said. “I am proud of the way we competed today. The fight was outstanding, especially in doubles. Even though we lost, this is the most complete match we have played so far.”
Sophomore Laurynas Antropikas and junior Chester Espie won 8-2 at number two doubles to get the Hatters off to a good start. Georgia State then won the other two doubles matches to earn the first point and take a 1-0 lead.
Antropikas then lost to Jannis Koeke 6-3, 6-1 at number two singles, which gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the match. Junior Nathan Debut put Stetson on the board with a 6-4, 6-4 win at number one singles.
Felipe Jaworski topped senior Hans Adrien Riseng 6-2, 7-5 at number six to give Georgia State a commanding 3-1 lead, before Stetson earned another two wins to tie the match at 3-3.
Freshman Graham Ball won 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 at number five singles, and sophomore Cahit Kapukiran earned a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3) at the number three position to tie the match.
Sofiane Chevallier won 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 at number four over Espie to give the nationally ranked Panthers the 4-3 win over the Hatters.
“The focus is now on to the next match," Noblet said. "We have a great week of tennis coming up, and we need to prepare appropriately for it.”
Stetson will next host Niagara on Monday. The match is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. in DeLand.
