THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University men's tennis team earned its fifth victory of the season with a 4-3 win over Northern Illinois Wednesday at the Colonel Tennis Complex.
Nicholls lost double and the first singles point, but fought back to win four matches in singles.
Antoine Martin-Thiriat got things started with a straight-set win at No. 6, then
Ricardo de Sales Chaves Machado had an impressive comeback for a victory at No. 2. Machado was down 5-0 in the opening set against David Pata before ralling with seven consecutive points. He then won the second set, 6-4.
Pavle Drobnjakovic then gave Nicholls (5-4) the lead with a three-set winner over Mikko Malinen, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Omar Hussein clinched the team victory by winning both of his sets, 6-3, on the No. 4 line. Northern Illinois (6-6) won court No. 1 to make the final.
"I'm super proud of the guys today," said
Greg Harkins, Nicholls Tennis head coach. "We dropped the doubles point but grinded out a victory against a really well-coached team. We were tough in singles and we continue to grow, and we'll keep working to get that doubles point."
The singles results improved Thiriat's mark to 6-1 on the season, while Hussein improved to 6-2.
UP NEXT
Nicholls will play Xavier (La.) in New Orleans on Sunday, March 15. First ball is scheduled for 1 p.m.
