Redbirds Edged Out By Southern Miss, 4-3

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A trip down south for what should have been a spring break trip began Monday for the Illinois State men's tennis team, as they took on Southern Mississippi in the first of three meets this week. After falling behind early, the Redbirds battled back but the Eagles held on for the 4-3 victory.

"Today was such a tough match all around," ISU head coach Mark Klysner said. "We had our chances in doubles. I felt like we were the better team, but playing outside for the first time in 5-6 months and under some hot temperatures, we simply ran out of juice on a few of the courts. It's something I'm always aware of when we head south because we are not used to playing outdoors, but I'm happy with how we competed and let's see how much is left in the tank for tomorrow."

Southern Miss swept all three doubles matches to earn the early point and widened the advantage to 2-0 after a win at No. 6 singles. However, the Redbirds rallied as Pol Botifoll Rius picked up a straight-set win at No. 4 and Nam Pham won a three-set thriller at the No. 1 spot to tie the match up at 2-2. The Eagles' Alan Sanson needed all three sets to defeat ISU's Diego Le Gal Perez at the No. 2 spot to give Southern Miss the advantage once again and another three-set victory by Christopher Cahour over Melker Isaksson at No. 5 secured the victory for USM. 

The road trip continues tomorrow for the Redbirds, as they head to The Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Privateers for a 2 p.m. match at the University Tennis Center.

RESULTS: SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (4), ILLINOIS STATE (3)

Singles Competition
1. Nam Pham (ILS) def. Alexander Gima (USM) 6-2, 6-7, 6-2
2. Alan Sanson (USM) def. Diego Le Gal Perez (ILS) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Diego Emilio Moura Herrerra (ILS) def. Olimjon Nabiev (USM) 6-4, 2-6, 3-3 (retired) 
4. Pol Botifoll Rius (ILS) def. Matthieu Peres (USM) 6-1, 6-3
5. Christopher Cahour (USM) def. Melker Isaksson (ILS) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
6. Antoine Audrain (USM) def. Mike Agee (ILS) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles Competition
1. Hsiang Yi Wang/Antoine Audrain (USM) def. Nam Pham/Ming-Chieh Chiu (ILS) 6-2
2. Matthieu Peres/Alexander Gima (USM) def. Aleksa Lazarevic/Melker Isaksson (ILS) 6-4
3. Alan Sanson/Olimjon Nabiev (USM) def. Diego Le Gal Perez/Diego Emilio Moura Herrerra (ILS) 7-5

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