Box Score

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana men's tennis team opened Southland Conference Tournament play with an impressive 4-1 victory over UT Arlington in first round action Friday morning at the HEB Tennis Center.

The fourth-seeded Lions (12-9) will now advance to the tournament's semifinal rounds where they will face tournament host and SLC regular season champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Saturday's winner will compete in the SLC Championship match scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sunday with a berth in the NCAA Championships on the line. Fifth-seeded UTA finished the season with a 9-11 overall record.

“We had an outstanding team effort today and our student-athletes put together an excellent performance,” Southeastern head coach Jason Hayes stated. “We'll have to play at least this well – if not better – against a very talented A&M-Corpus Christi team tomorrow. We're going to play hard and have fun against a tough team opponent and we're excited for the chance to continue our season.”

The Lions took the early advantage by winning the doubles point. At No. 3, the second team All-SLC Lion duo of sophomore Julien Roussel and freshman Damien Cordoba improved to 5-1, cruising to an 8-1 victory over Adam Srkala and David Subirats.

After UTA picked up a win at No. 1, Southeastern clinched the doubles point at No. 2. Southeastern senior and SLC Newcomer of the Year Guillaume Capovin teamed with freshman Jan Bezdecka for an 8-4 victory over Gonzalo Bienzobas and Brieuc Hamon to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.

Southeastern quickly built the lead to 3-0 with a pair of dominant straight-set singles victories. At No. 3, junior Benjamin Enke (13-8) rolled past Hamon, 6-2, 6-0. At No. 2, UTA's Dmitry Minkin was no match for Roussel, as the Lion sophomore improved to 8-5 in singles play with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

UTA's only point came at No. 1, where SLC Freshman of the Year Mindaugas Celedinas moved past Lion sophomore Stepan Siska 6-2, 6-4. The Lions clinched the match shortly thereafter, however, as Capovin ran his team-best singles record to 16-5 with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Srkala at No. 5.

In Friday's other first round action, sixth-seeded Nicholls State upset No. 3 UTSA, 4-2, and advanced to a semifinal match against No. 2 Texas-Pan American.

2009 Southland Conference Men's Tennis Tournament
Corpus Christi, Texas – HEB Center

Friday, April 24
First Round
Match 1 – No. 6 Nicholls State 4, No. 3 UTSA 2
Match 2 – No. 4 Southeastern Louisiana 4, No. 5 UT Arlington 1

Saturday, April 25
Semifinals
Match 3 – Nicholls State vs. No. 2 Texas-Pan American, 9:30 a.m.
Match 4 – Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 1 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 9:30 a.m.

Sunday, April 26
Finals
Championship Match – Semifinal Winners, 12 p.m.