Tennis Championship Central

Georgia State wins Sun Belt Conference men’s tennis title

NEW ORLEANS – No. 1 seed Georgia State defeated No. 2 seed South Alabama 4-3 in a fierce battle of two teams ranked in the ITA National Top 50 rankings to win the 2017 Sun Belt Conference men’s tennis championship.

The No. 37-ranked Panthers earned the Sun Belt’s automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship with the win. The match was a three-hour and 24-minute showdown that pitted two Top 50 programs against each other for the first time in men’s tennis championship history.

Georgia State’s Jannis Koeke climbed back from a 5-3 deficit in the third set to deliver the match-clinching win, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 at the No. 3 position. The Panthers came from behind with wins at the Nos. 2, 5 and 6 spots after No. 47-ranked South Alabama claimed the doubles point. Sebastian Acuna (6-3, 6-2) at No. 5 and Felipe Jaworski (6-2, 7-5) at No. 6 were the first two off the court before Andrei Andrukhou won a thrilling 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (10) match at No. 2.

In a showdown of two nationally-ranked singles players, South Alabama’s No. 104-ranked Tuki Jacobs defeated Georgia State’s No. 84-ranked Zackery Kennedy 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 at the No. 1 position.

Georgia State’s men’s tennis title is its second since joining the league in 2013. The Panthers won the championship in their inaugural year (2013), also by a 4-3 margin.

The NCAA Men’s Tennis team selection show will air on Tuesday, May 5 at 4 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.

Tennis Match Results

South Alabama vs Georgia State

Apr 23, 2017 at New Orleans, La.

(City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center)

#37 Georgia State 4, #47 South Alabama 3

Singles competition

1. #104 Jacobs, Tuki (USA) def. #84 Kennedy,Zackery (GSU) 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3

2. Andrukhou,Andrei (GSU) def. Soria, Juan Cruz (USA) 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (12-10)

3. Koeke,Jannis (GSU) def. Gingras, Olivier (USA) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5

4. Cloes, Loic (USA) def. Coulaud,Quentin (GSU) 6-2, 6-4

5. Acuna,Sebastian (GSU) def. Gonzalez, Lucas (USA) 6-3, 6-2

6. Jaworski,Felipe (GSU) def. Noyon, Pierre (USA) 6-2, 7-5

Doubles competition

1. Cloes, Loic/Soria, Juan Cruz (USA) def. Andrukhou,Andrei/Kennedy,Zackery (GSU) 6-3

2. Gonzalez, Lucas/Jacobs, Tuki (USA) def. Acuna,Sebastian/MacFarlane,Jack (GSU) 6-2

3. Gingras, Olivier/Noyon, Pierre (USA) def. Coulaud,Quentin/Jaworski,Felipe (GSU) 5-4

Match Notes:

South Alabama 23-6; National ranking #47

Georgia State 19-6; National ranking #37

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,6,4,1,2,3)

2017 Sun Belt Men's Tennis Championship

Championship Match

#1 Georgia State vs. #2 South Alabama

Official: Dale Williamson T-3:24 A-111