HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Although the matches were closer than the overall scores indicated, the Alcorn State University men's tennis program fell to Florida A&M 4-0 and Southern Miss 5-1 on Saturday at the Southern Miss Tennis Facility.
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In the first match, Alcorn was leading all of the unfinished matches when play was halted. Junior
Nikita Kostikov was up 7-6, 4-3 at No. 1 singles, and junior
Kert Kilumets was close to closing out his match at No. 2 singles 6-3, 5-3. At the No. 6 position, sophomore
Nuno Rocha held a 7-6 (6), 2-1 advantage.
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The Braves were even leading the unfinished doubles match 5-4 at the No. 1 spot with Kostikov and Kilumets.
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Against USM, the Braves started off strong as Rocha and junior
Nischay Rawal registered a 6-4 victory at No. 3 doubles. The doubles point came down to the No. 1 spot, but Alcorn's Kostikov and Kilumets got edged in a tiebreaker 7-2.
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Kilumets bounced back to tally Alcorn's lone win of the day 6-3, 6-1 at No. 2 singles. Kostikov was headed to a third set after splitting the first two 6-3, 4-6 when the Golden Eagles clinched.
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The Braves will be back at it Friday when they play New Orleans on the road at 1 p.m.
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Match 1
FAMU 4, Alcorn 0
Singles
1.
Nikita Kostikov (ALCN_M) vs. OKUNGBOWA,Courage (FAMUM), 7-5. 4-3, unfinished
2.
Kert Kilumets (ALCN_M) vs. ESPINOZA,Walner (FAMUM) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
3. SMALL,Karlyn (FAMUM) def.
Nischay Rawal (ALCN_M) 6-4, 6-3
4. WAITMAN,Carlos Agust (FAMUM) def.
Ivan Matas (ALCN_M) 6-3, 6-0
5. NANI, Federico (FAMUM) def.
Suyash Gupta (ALCN_M) 6-1, 6-4
6.
Nuno Rocha (ALCN_M) vs. HASONA,Samer Hema (FAMUM), 7-6 (2), 2-1, unfinished
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Doubles
1.
Nikita Kostikov/
Kert Kilumets (ALCN_M) vs. ESPINOZA,Walner/WAITMAN,Carlos Agust (FAMUM), 5-4, unfinished
2. SMALL,Karlyn/OKUNGBOWA,Courage (FAMUM) def.
Nuno Rocha/
Nischay Rawal (ALCN_M) 6-1
3. NANI, Federico/EVANS,Jalen (FAMUM) def.
Ivan Matas/
Suyash Gupta (ALCN_M) 6-2
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Match 2
Southern Miss 5, Alcorn 1
Singles
1.
Nikita Kostikov (ALCN_M) vs. W. Tseng (USM), 6-3, 4-6, unfinished
2.
Kert Kilumets (ALCN_M) def. D. Merker (USM), 6-3, 6-1
3. C. Huang (USM) def.
Nischay Rawal (ALCN_M), 6-1, 6-0
4. J. Reyes (USM) def.
Javon Yarbrough (ALCN_M), 6-1, 6-0
5. T. Tortrakul (USM) def.
Suyash Gupta (ALCN_M), 6-3, 6-3
6. R. Rishi (USM) def.
Nuno Rocha (ALCN_M), 6-3, 6-1
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Doubles
1. Merker/Reyes (USM) def. Kostikov/Kilumets (ALCN_M), 7-6 (2)
2. Huang/Tseng (USM) def. Matas/Gupta (ALCN_M), 6-1
3. Rocha/Rawal (ALCN_M) def. Tortrakul/Rishi (USM), 6-4
#FearTheBrave
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