The University of Southern Mississippi men’s tennis team fell 4-2 to Troy on Sunday at the Lunsford Tennis Complex in Troy, Alabama. The Golden Eagles, with a record of 7-9 overall and 1-3 in the Sun Belt Conference, faced the unbeaten Trojans, who improved to 16-4 and 5-0 in league play.
Southern Miss started strong, claiming the doubles point with wins on courts three and one. Julius Bult and Eric Perkowski defeated Yeray Andres Pastor and Steph Tavares Noale, 6-2, on court three, while Jose Murariu and Saheb Sodhi secured a 6-3 victory on court one. The No. 2 doubles match between Kale Mize and Jay Temming and Troy’s Luciano Alcocer and Ryusei Miyazato was left unfinished with the Golden Eagles leading 5-4.
Troy responded in singles, taking control with straight-set wins on courts three and four. Pastor defeated Sodhi, 6-3, 6-3, on court three, and Sakamoto beat Bult, 6-4, 6-2, on court four. The Trojans extended their lead when Melo beat Mize, 7-5, 6-1, on court one.
Southern Miss kept fighting. Olle Noltorp outlasted Tavares Noale in three sets, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4, on court five, narrowing the gap to 3-2. The clinching point came at No. 2 singles, where Troy’s Luciano Alcocer defeated Murariu, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.
Ritabrata Sarkar’s match at No. 6 was unfinished with Sarkar trailing Loui Boilevin, 6-4, 4-7, 7-0. The singles order of finish was 3, 4, 1, 2, 5. Southern Miss returns to action April 4 with a road match at North Alabama, according to the university.
