Southern Miss
Florida A&M
Daniel Merker Gives Golden Eagles Winning Point
1/27/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Daniel Merker helped secure the win on opening day for the Southern Miss Men's Tennis team against Florida A&M on Friday at the Southern Miss Tennis Facility.
The Golden Eagles doubles got the match rolling with two wins from Daniel Merker and Jorman Reyes and Wen-Po Tseng and Chao-Yu Huang. The two teams secured the first point of the Golden Eagles spring season.
"It was good to get the first win of the 2017 season," Head Coach Zubin Engineer said. "The doubles got us off to a quick start and the team stayed focused going into singles."
Reyes continued to have the hot hand and won his match at the No. 4 spot in singles action with a quick 6-3, 6-0 win. The Golden Eagles continued to battle hard to earn their first win of the season.
Senior Rakshit Rishi used his experience in a tough three-set match to bring the Golden Eagles within reach. Rishi controlled his first set 6-2 but fell 4-6 in the second. An enthusiastic back-and-forth set gave Rishi the upper hand and won 6-4.
Merker's strong performance at the No. 2 spot gave the Golden Eagles it's final point the team needed to secure the win.
Teeradon Tortrakul finished seconds after Merker's win finishing up the Golden Eagle's season opener with a 5-1 win.
The Golden Eagles continue their spring season Saturday morning at 10 a.m. against Jackson State and finish the weekend's matches and host Alcorn at 2 p.m.
"The goal this weekend is to perform well in a lot of matches and get settled in and execute as much as we can," Engineer said.
DOUBLES (In Order of Finish)
Merker/Reyes def. Espinoza/Waitman, 6-3
Huang/Tseng def. Okungbowa/Skoromnyy, 6-2
Rishi/Totrakul vs. Fernandez/Small, Unfinished
SINGLES (In Order of Finish)
Jorman Reyes (USM) def. Illya Skoromnyy (FAMU), 6-3, 6-0
Courage Okungbowa (FAMU) def. Wen-Po Tseng, 6-4, 6-2
Rakshit Rishi (USM) def. Carlos Agust Waitman (FAMU), 6-2. 4-6, 6-4
Daniel Merker (USM) def. Karlyn Small (FAMU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Teeradon Torakul (USM) def. Nani Fernandez (FAMU), 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
Chao-Yu Huang (USM) vs. Walner Espinoza (FAMU), DNF
