Men’s tennis bests James Madison at home to earn first conference victory

After a long road trip that saw them start off conference play at 0-3, Troy men’s tennis got back on track with a sweep against the James Madison Dukes in their first home match of conference play.

Henrique de Brito and Luciano Alcocer started the Trojans off hot in doubles with a 6-1 win in the No. 3 spot and the win would soon be followed by a 6-1 win from Hiiro Sakamoto and Yeray Andres Pastor to give the Trojans an early and crucial 1-0 lead following doubles play over the Dukes. The final doubles match was deadlocked at 3-3 but went unfinished.

The Trojans would have no trouble continuing the success as Alcocer once again started things off for the Trojans, this time in singles. He would grab his 13th win of the season with a 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 6 spot to give the Trojans a 2-0 advantage.

Sakamoto would repeat his success from doubles with a 6-2, 6-0 win at the No. 3 spot to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead. Sakamato is now 18-2 on the spring season and is on fire with a three-match winning streak.

Nicolas Simkin put the nail in the coffin of the Dukes by way of a 6-3, 6-1 win in the No. 2 spot to give the Trojans a 4-0 win and their first conference victory.

The remaining two matches went unfinished with the Trojans leading in two out of the three matches.

With the win over the Dukes, the Trojans now move to 15-7 this spring with a 9-1 record at home. The Trojans were slated to defend that 9-1 home record against the 60th ranked Old Dominion Monarchs on Sunday, however, that match was postponed.

The Trojans head to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in their fifth conference match of the season. First serve is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday, Apr. 5.