ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – A promising start by (12) #33 Southern Arkansas in Tuesday morning's National Round of 16 matchup against (5) #8 Indianapolis did not result in the finish the Muleriders were hoping for as the Greyhounds topped SAU 4-1 at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs. Southern Arkansas finishes the 2024 campaign at 14-8 overall and ends a season in the national tournament for the third time since 2018-19.
The Muleriders grabbed the early momentum winning the doubles point as the pairing of
Lluc Pasqual and
Ole Valkyser edged #31 Erwan Momo Andre and Louis Picaud 7-6 (7-5) at line two which followed a line three victory by
Frode Neumann and
Matthew Tennant who dispatched Pedro Franca and David Simeonov 6-3.
Tim Fischer and
Pierre Copin battled the No. 2 doubles team in the country in Matthieu Derache and Tom Zeuch.
Three of the four singles matches that reached a conclusion in the Round of 16 tilt went three sets. The nation's top player in Zeuch put the Greyhounds on the board with a 6-3, 6-1 win over #39 Valkyser at line one. Neumann earned an opening set victory over #54 Picaud at line three, but the latter won 6-3, 6-4 to give UIndy a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Tennant rallied back after a 6-1 loss to start action against Manuel Lanteri, but fell in a tightly-contested set three 7-5 at the Greyhounds' lead grew to 3-1. At line four,
Mathys Pinoit opened with a statement 6-1 win over Simeonov, before falling in close action in sets two and three 6-3, 6-4.
With the UIndy advancement, play was halted at lines two and six. #43 Fischer was in the midst of a three-set battle against Momo Andre after winning the opening frame 6-4 and Pasqual was rallying back in the third set after winning the first 6-4 against Derache.
