Box Score ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – An absolute thriller. #33/(3) Southern Arkansas true freshman
Mathys Pinoit outlasted #29/(2) Ouachita's Ramon Strassmann in a back-and-forth third set as the Frenchman completed the Muleriders' furious rally from down 3-0 to punch the program's third ticket to the National Round of 16 since its first spring of NCAA action in 2019. The 4-3 victory for the Muleriders' snapped a four-match losing streak against the Tigers and avenged a regular season defeat to Ouachita on March 26. SAU awaits its national seeding and will open action in Florida from Altamonte Springs' Sanlando Park on Tuesday, May 21.
In doubles, the Mulerider pairing of
Ole Valkyser and
Lluc Pasqual defeated Strassman and Aaron Osmond 6-3, but the Tigers used a win at line one, as Alex Blanchar and Phil Exner knocked off SAU's
Pierre Copin and
Tim Fischer 6-3, and a tiebreaking victory at line three, with Elias Lagger and Fernando Docters edging
Frode Neumann and
Matthew Tennant 7-6 (8-6), to take control entering singles play.
The momentum continued for the Tigers as Docters defeated Neumann 6-2, 6-3 at line three and Exner beating Fischer at line two 6-4, 6-2. Soon after the Muleriders found the scoreboard as Valkyser knocked down Blanchar 7-5, 6-4 at line one with Pasqual handling Lagger 6-3, 6-4 moments later at line six.
Trailing 3-2, the attention for the Muleriders quickly moved to lines four and five. At five, Tennant claimed the opening set from Osmond 6-4, fell 6-2 in set two, but then returned with a second 6-4 win in the third set to even the match score at 3-3.
He might be a true freshman on the roster, but Pinoit played like a seasoned veteran. After dropping the opening set to Strassmann 7-4, Pinoit rallied with a 6-3 win in set two to force what ended up being one of the most thrilling tiebreaking sets in the program's six-year NCAA history. The Lille, France native finished off Strassman 7-6 (7-5) to set off a celebratory court-storming by his teammates.
With Monday afternoon's victory, sixth-year head coach
Greg Owen improved his win total as leader of the Mulerider Men's Tennis program to 79. You could argue none have been bigger, but you'd have less success arguing that the ticket-punching rally from down 3-0 wasn't the most thrilling.
