April 26, 2009

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Nicholls men's tennis fell to nationally ranked Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the SLC Championship on Sunday afternoon, 4-0, at the HEB Center.

Nicholls (13-10, 3-6) upset No. 3 UTSA and No. 2 UTPA on its way to the SLC championship, but could not pull off the ultimate upset in the finals.

"I can't express enough how proud I am of our guys. They really came into the tournament feeling like they had something to prove, and showed that they belonged here," said Head Coach Jim Hunter.

The Colonels lost the doubles point, falling at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, and their misfortunes continued in singles play, losing No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6 matches.

Nevertheless, Nicholls put together its best season since brining the sport back in 2004, posting double-digit victories, while also accumulating the most wins in conference action since competing in the Southland Conference.

"This is just so great for Nicholls State," said Hunter. "These young men represented the university well, and competed with pride."

Official results from the match are below.

Tennis Match Results
Nicholls State vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Apr 26, 2009 at Corpus Christi, Texas

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Nicholls State 0

Singles competition:
1. Dmitry Novikov (AMCC-M) vs. Abhaya Prakash (NICH-M) 6-4, 2-3, unfinished
2. Mikhail Pavlov (AMCC-M) def. Radu Ionescu (NICH-M) 6-0, 7-5
3. Laurent Montoisy (AMCC-M) def. Eric Fisher (NICH-M) 5-0, retired
4. Jose Zunino (AMCC-M) vs. Phenyo Matong (NICH-M) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
5. Jaume Farras (AMCC-M) vs. Rohan Shetty (NICH-M) 7-6 (7-1), 5-2, unfinished
6. James Langford (AMCC-M) def. Sami Mouline (NICH-M) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles competition:
1. Mikhail Pavlov/Dmitry Novikov (AMCC-M) vs. Radu Ionescu/Abhaya Prakash (NICH-M) 4-4, unfinished
2. Laurent Montoisy/Jose Zunino (AMCC-M) def. Phenyo Matong/Eric Fisher (NICH-M) 8-2
3. James Langford/David Pace (AMCC-M) def. Rohan Shetty/Sami Mouline (NICH-M) 8-2

Match Notes:
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 14-8
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (3,6,2)

###