University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Thursday, January 30
Hattiesburg, Miss.
2 PM
Southern Miss
3
vs
4
West Alabama
Men's Tennis Edged by Tigers
1/30/2020 7:04:00 PM | Men's Tennis
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's tennis team's bid for a 4-0 start fell just short in a 4-3 heartbreaker to West Alabama on Thursday afternoon.
"The focus is always on learning and improving," head coach Zubin Engineer said. "We have learned a lot in January, and there are plenty more opportunities ahead to continue this journey."
The Golden Eagles drew first blood with Alexander Gima and Matthieu Peres moving to 3-0 as a tandem in the young season. UWA was able to counter with a pair of 6-3 victories within a minute of each other to earn the point.
Southern Miss has maintained consistency with its doubles lineups, using three combinations for the course of the year.
Despite the Tigers earning the No. 3 singles win to start, Peres and Christopher Cahour earned two-set wins to make the score 2-2. Things got even more interesting when Antoine Androine moved to 3-0 on the year with a three-set win and UWA responded with a win on No. 1. It all came down to an intense battle on No. 6 that went to a tiebreaker each set, but UWA earned the final edge.
The Tigers were a preseason top-25 team in Division II and were playing an exhibition match.
The homestand continues Sunday against Lamar at 11 a.m. CT.
Singles competition (2,4,3,5,1,6)
1. Ilari Vesanen (UWA) def. Hsiang Yi Wang (USM) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0
2. Christopher Bulus (UWA) def. Alexander Gima (USM) 6-4, 6-1
3. Matthieu Peres (USM) def. Ilia Dehodiuk (UWA) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
4. Christopher Cahour (USM) def. Anton Lof (UWA) 6-0, 6-3
5. Antoine Androine (USM) def. Noah Johansen (UWA) 6-0, 5-7, 6-3
6. Nuutti Jokinen (UWA) def. Emilio Bowen (USM) 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), 7-5
Doubles competition (2,1,3)
1. Ilari Vesanen/Christopher Bulus (UWA) def. Hsiang Yi Wang/Vence N'Tcha (USM) 6-3
2. Alexander Gima/Matthieu Peres (USM) def. Ilia Dehodiuk/Noah Johansen (UWA) 6-2
3. Anton Lof/Patricio Nieto Corra (UWA) def. Emilio Bowen/Antoine Androine (USM) 6-3
"The focus is always on learning and improving," head coach Zubin Engineer said. "We have learned a lot in January, and there are plenty more opportunities ahead to continue this journey."
The Golden Eagles drew first blood with Alexander Gima and Matthieu Peres moving to 3-0 as a tandem in the young season. UWA was able to counter with a pair of 6-3 victories within a minute of each other to earn the point.
Southern Miss has maintained consistency with its doubles lineups, using three combinations for the course of the year.
Despite the Tigers earning the No. 3 singles win to start, Peres and Christopher Cahour earned two-set wins to make the score 2-2. Things got even more interesting when Antoine Androine moved to 3-0 on the year with a three-set win and UWA responded with a win on No. 1. It all came down to an intense battle on No. 6 that went to a tiebreaker each set, but UWA earned the final edge.
The Tigers were a preseason top-25 team in Division II and were playing an exhibition match.
The homestand continues Sunday against Lamar at 11 a.m. CT.
Singles competition (2,4,3,5,1,6)
1. Ilari Vesanen (UWA) def. Hsiang Yi Wang (USM) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0
2. Christopher Bulus (UWA) def. Alexander Gima (USM) 6-4, 6-1
3. Matthieu Peres (USM) def. Ilia Dehodiuk (UWA) 6-1, 7-6 (5)
4. Christopher Cahour (USM) def. Anton Lof (UWA) 6-0, 6-3
5. Antoine Androine (USM) def. Noah Johansen (UWA) 6-0, 5-7, 6-3
6. Nuutti Jokinen (UWA) def. Emilio Bowen (USM) 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), 7-5
Doubles competition (2,1,3)
1. Ilari Vesanen/Christopher Bulus (UWA) def. Hsiang Yi Wang/Vence N'Tcha (USM) 6-3
2. Alexander Gima/Matthieu Peres (USM) def. Ilia Dehodiuk/Noah Johansen (UWA) 6-2
3. Anton Lof/Patricio Nieto Corra (UWA) def. Emilio Bowen/Antoine Androine (USM) 6-3
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
123
Ilari Vesanen / 0 [UWA]
366
640
#2 Singles Match
12
Christopher Bulus / 0 [UWA]
66
41
#3 Singles Match
12
Ilia Dehodiuk / 0 [UWA]
16
67
#4 Singles Match
12
Anton Lof / 0 [UWA]
03
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Noah Johansen / 0 [UWA]
073
656
#6 Singles Match
123
Nuutti Jokinen / 0 [UWA]
677
765
Order of Finish:
2,4,3,5,1,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Charles Huff Postgame Press Conference - The ULM Game
Sunday, October 26
Charles Huff Weekly Press Conference - The ULM Game
Tuesday, October 21
Missy Bilderback Preseason Press Conference - October 15, 2025
Wednesday, October 15
Jay Ladner Press Conference - October 15, 2025
Wednesday, October 15