Photo Gallery | Tournament Website
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi defeated Lamar 4-1 to claim its second consecutive Southland Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament Championship Sunday at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center. The title was the sixth Southland championship for the Islanders.
The Islanders (19-9) will make their fifth appearance in the NCAA tournament in the last seven years and their second consecutive trip. After winning the doubles point, the Islanders put together a 3-1 lead in singles before senior Matt Westmoreland for the second straight year clinched the championship match for the Islanders. The Islanders have now won six Southland Conference Tournament Championships.
A&M-Corpus Christi opened with a 2-0 lead over Lamar after clinching a tight doubles point and Javier Pujol secured his sixth consecutive singles match. The duo of Peter Nagy and Guillaume Rauseo powered past Jeandre Hoogenboezem and Juuso Laitinen, 8-2, in No. 1 doubles, before the sophomore pair of Ricardo Mayagoitia and Pujol fell 8-4 to Trey Crysel and Michael Feucht in No. 3 doubles. The deciding doubles point came down to No. 2 doubles between the senior-freshman duo of Matt Westmoreland and Paul Cook and Lis and Rajamaki. The Islanders pair built an early 3-1 lead before the Cardinal duo pushed ahead 7-5. The Islanders then rallied to win the next two games and force a seven-point tiebreaker. In the tiebreak, the Islanders rallied behind the loud Corpus Christi fans to win 7-3 and clinch the doubles point for the Islanders.
In singles play, Pujol padded the Islanders lead to 2-0 after topping Laitinen, 6-4, 6-3 in No. 3 singles. Lamar answered with a straight-set win in No. 2 singles to pull within one. Lis defeated Mayagoitia, 6-4, 6-2, before the Islanders secured the next two singles matches. Nagy clinched his 20th singles win of the season and his eight-straight singles victory after downing Feucht, 6-2, 6-3, in No. 1 singles. The two-time Southland Conference Player of the Year has registered a 20-3 singles mark this season in the No. 1 slot.
In the final three singles matches, Rauseo was battling in a three-setter with Hoogenboezem in No. 5 singles while Cook was forced to a third set in No. 6 singles with Rajamaki, so it came down to Westmoreland, the lone Islanders senior. Westmoreland sealed the first set 6-1, before clinching the match for the Islanders with a 6-3 win over Lindqvis in No. 4 singles. Last season, Westmoreland clinched the Southland championship match for the Islanders in the No. 3 singles and followed with the clinching win today in No. 4 singles. It marks Westmoreland's third trip to the NCAAs in his four years.
The Islanders will find out their opponents and where they will be traveling during the NCAA selection show on Tuesday. The men's selection will start at 4 p.m., CT.
Singles:
1. Peter Nagy (AMCC) def. Michael Feucht (LU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Nikita Lis (LU) def. Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) 6-4, 6-2
3. Javier Pujol (AMCC) def. Juuso Laitinen (LU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Matt Westmoreland (AMCC) def. Carl-Philip Lindqvis (LU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) vs. Jeandre Hoogenboezem (LU) 6-4, 4-6, 3-3, unfinished
6. Paul Cook (AMCC) vs. Mikko Rajamaki (LU) 6-3, 3-6, unfinished
Doubles:
1. Peter Nagy/Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) def. Jeandre Hoogenboezem/Juuso Laitinen (LU) 8-2
2. Matt Westmoreland/Paul Cook (AMCC) def. Nikita Lis/Mikko Rajamaki (LU) 8-7 (7-3)
3. Trey Crysel/Michael Feucht (LU) def. Ricardo Mayagoitia/Javier Pujol (AMCC) 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,2,1,4)