Men's tennis makes tournament run

The Troy men’s tennis team made a run to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship match last week, where the team fell 4-1 to nationally ranked Old Dominion.

The Trojans dispatched Georgia Southern 4-0 and Southern Miss 4-1 after ending the regular season with a 7-0 sweep of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. 

The No. 2-seeded Trojans started their journey in the Sun Belt Conference quarterfinals against Southern Miss. 

Troy opened the match strong, securing the doubles point behind senior Yeray Andres Pastor and freshman Ryusei Miyazato, who won 6-3 on court three, along with sophomore Thiago Drozdowski and freshman Stephan Tavares Noale, who added a 6-3 win on court two. The duo of Andres Pastor and Miyazato remained undefeated in doubles with a 6-0 record. 

As singles play began, Troy stayed in control of the Golden Eagles. Sophomore Hirro Sakamoto and junior Louis Boilevin each finished their matches in straight-set wins.

Southern Miss tried to rally on court three with a 6-3, 6-4 win from senior Saheb Sodhi, but Tavares Noale delivered a clutch 7-5, 6-0 victory on court five, giving the Trojans the edge to clinch the match and advance to the semifinals. 

In the semifinals, the Trojans faced off against Georgia Southern. Starting in doubles play, Drozdowski and Noale earned an early 6-1 win on court one, and junior Luciano Alcocer and Sakamoto followed by clinching a 7-5 win on court two to secure the advantage point.  

In singles, Andres Pastor rolled to a straight-set win on court three, while redshirt freshman Ausias Martin Melo added a 6-3, 6-2 win on court one. Once again, Tavares Noale came through with the clincher, winning 7-6, 7-5 on court five as the Trojans completed a 4-0 sweep and advanced to face No. 1 Old Dominion — their first finals appearance since 2015. 

In the Sun Belt championship match, the Trojans struck first, gaining the doubles point with a 6-3 win from Alcocer and Sakamoto on court two and a 6-4 win from Tavares Noale and Drozdowski on court one. 

However, as singles play unfolded; Old Dominion took control, winning five of the first six sets. Sakamoto was the only Trojan to take his opening set, 7-5 on court four, before his match went unfinished.  

The Monarchs tied the score with a win on court one and continued to push ahead. Alcocer and Tavares Noale each battled back to win second sets, but ODU extended its lead to 3-1 with two straight victories. Noale faced match points in deuce, trailing 5-1 in the third set.

He saved the first and forced another, but the Monarchs capitalized on the second match point to secure the championship. 

The Troy Trojans now conclude their season at 24-5, the program’s most wins since 2015. Each of the Trojans earned all-tournament team honors, with Andres Pastor recognized on court three and Luciano Alcocer and Hiiro Sakamoto selected No. 2 in doubles.