Men’s tennis bests Samford to win first match of spring season

Brady Fitch photo

Hiiro Sakamoto hits the ball during Troy’s match against Samford.

This week, Troy men’s tennis started off by dominating the Samford Bulldogs at home in a 6-1 win. However, they would not be so fortunate in Starkville, Mississippi, Sunday against the Bulldogs of Mississippi State.

In their home opener, the Trojans took down Samford 6-1 to get into the win column for the first time this season after losing to North Florida and Miami.

The Trojans would start off slow in doubles, going 1-2 with a sole win coming from a Noah Martens and Henrique de Brito comeback win, where at one point they trailed 4-2 before winning four straight games to take the first doubles match 6-4.

Samford would win the next two doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead.

Luciano Alcocer tied things up for the Trojans in singles with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) win, and Henrique de Brito would give the Trojans another singles point to take a 2-1 lead.

The Trojans wouldn’t stop there, taking all six singles matches en route to a 6-1 win over Samford. Nicolas Simkin earned a 7-5, 6-4 victory from the first line.

Freshman Hiiro Sakamoto continued his excellent spring with a 6-4, 6-4 win to clinch the match. Troy and Samford agreed to play out the final matches, which the Trojans won as de Brito and Martens both sealed victories.

Unfortunately for the Trojans, the next match wouldn’t go their way when they took on the No. 11 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs as they would lose 7-0.

The match saw former Trojan Mario Martinez Serrano play against Troy after transferring last offseason. Serrano didn’t play singles but beat Troy in his doubles appearance.

The Trojans will be back at home Friday afternoon against Auburn Montgomery. The first serves are set for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.