MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of West Alabama men's tennis team defeated No. 38 Southeastern Oklahoma State University in a neutral site contest on Tuesday afternoon, 6-1.
After dropping the first set, the Tigers bounced back in flights two and three, with Eita Ishikawa and Nuutti Jokinen taking down Thabo Ncube and Stipan Madzar 6-4. Caden Goldammer and Vilislav Bonev saw a 6-3 triumph in bottom spot to take the doubles point.
Despite falling behind early to Gonzalez in the opening set, Hammond responded with a pair of 6-3 victories to win to top flight.
Ishikawa went to three sets with Stipan Madzar, but cruised in the third with a 6-1 score.
Jacob Tapia clinched the three-set victory in flight five over Luis Ching, rallying from a 7-6 (5) loss in the second set to win the point on the 10-point tiebreaker, 10-6.
Caden Goldhammer took down Vinicius Outor in two sets, 6-4, 6-1 to help UWA win five of six singles points.
"This was a good win for the men. The match was a lot closer than the score indicates, but we needed that push going into some important matches during Spring Break," said head coach Jeff Beaman.
West Alabama improves to 4-5 overall on the season while Southeastern Oklahoma State falls to 8-4.
UWA will stay on the road, heading to Valdosta, Georgia to take on No. 16 Embry-Riddle in a neutral site matchup on Sunday. The first serve is set for 10 a.m. EDT.
