April 3, 2011

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Memphis men's tennis ending the Sun Belt Shootout on a high note with a 4-1 defeat of Florida Atlantic in its final match of the tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Buck Bouldin Tennis Center.

The Tigers (13-8, 3-3 C-USA) struck swiftly with wins at the second and third positions in doubles competition to pick up the first point of the match. Memphis tandem Joe Salisbury and David O'Hare produced an impressive 8-4 win over Marc Wakim and Omar El Kheshen while duo Leon Nasemann and John Taylor locked up the point for the Blue and Gray with an 8-3 upending of Dan Vardag and Oliver Webb at No. 3.

FAU (10-8) would take the top spot in singles where O'Hare fell to Marc Abdelnour 6-4, 6-3, but Memphis netters would take the No. 2, 5 and 6 positions in straight sets for the team victory, and with the match decided, the third and fourth slots would go unfinished.

The Tigers are off until Sunday, April 10, when they will face Middle Tennessee State for a second time this season in a neutral site match in Jacksonville, Fla. The Tigers took down MTSU 4-0 on Friday in their first match-up this season.

Memphis 4, Florida Atlantic 1
Singles Competition
1. Marc Abdelnour (FAU) def. David O'Hare (MEM), 6-4, 6-3
2. Joe Salisbury (MEM) def. Ervin Garibovic (FAU), 6-4, 6-4
3. Leon Nasemann (MEM) vs. Dan Vardag (FAU), DNF
4. Johnny Grimal (MEM) vs. Omar El Kheshen (FAU) DNF
5. David Henry (MEM) def. Marc Wakim (FAU), 7-5, 6-2
6. Cedric DeZutter (MEM) def. Derek Madon (FAU), 7-5, 6-4

Doubles Competition
1. Jordon Smith/Henry (MEM) vs. Abdelnour/Garibovic (FAU), DNF
2. Salisbury/O'Hare (MEM) def. Wakim/El Kheshen (FAU), 8-4
3. Nasemann/John Taylor (MEM) def. Vardag/Oliver Webb (FAU), 8-3