Atlanta, GA--The 2011 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tennis Championships were decided today as the men’s title was won by the Maroon Tigers of Morehouse College who defeated the Tigers of Stillman College.
In a battle between the conference number one and two teams, two-time defending SIAC Champion Morehouse College met the number one ranked Tigers of Stillman College.
In doubles play, the Morehouse took two of the three matches. The Maroon Tigers duo of Michael Cutrer and Jordan Bailey defeated the team of brothers from Stillma College, Jeffrey and Felipe Farias, 8-6.
Morehouse got its second doubles win when Michael Thomas and Noah Terry paired to defeat Ryan Lincoln and Anes Hrjnic, 8-1. The Tigers of Stillman rebounded in the final doubles match as Ivan Irazabal and David Torres defeated Tory Martin and Mario Ecung, 8-6.
Trailing 2-1 as singles play began, Stillman took a 3-2 lead when Torres bested DeWayne Dixon in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2 and Felipe Farias out-dueled Ecung, 7-5, 6-2. The match was pulled back to even at 3-3 when Morehouse’s Michael Thomas defeated Hrjnic, 6-2, 6-4.
In the perhaps the most entertaining match of the championship, Morehouse inched ahead 4-3 after Martin battled Irazabal to a 7-5, 6-7 (9-7), 6-3 win. The Morehouse lead was short-lived as Jeffrey Farias defeated Cutrer, 6-4, 6-0 to tie the teams at four games each.
The championship would come down to the final singles match of the tournament between Lincoln for Stillman and Bailey for Morehouse. With Bailey’s 6-0, 6-1 win, the Maroon Tigers maintained their dominance of SIAC Men’s Tennis with their third consecutive conference title.
In the men’s third place game, the Wildcats of Fort Valley State University defeated the Golden Tigers of Tuskegee University, 5-0.
Men’s All-Tournament Team
Singles
Tory Martin, Morehouse College
Michael Thomas, Morehouse College
Ivan Irazabal, Stillman College
Felipe Farias, Stillman College
Tommy Williams, Fort Valley State University
David Mohammed, Tuskegee University
Doubles
Noah Terry and Michael Thomas, Morehouse College
Ivan Irazabal and David Torres, Stillman College
Andrew Belk and Brandon Pringle, Fort Valley State University
Outstanding Coach: Terry Alexander, Morehouse College
Tournament MVP: Michael Thomas, Morehouse College