Montgomery, Ala. – The SBU Tennis teams were down south Thursday, competing against Auburn Montgomery and West Alabama. The men's team fell to Auburn Montgomery in a very close 4-2 finish, but handed #22 West Alabama a 4-3 loss. The Bearcats are now 6-7 on the season.
 
Match One
Carlos Corser and Max Sanoja opened the day with an exciting 7-5 victory over their opponents on court 1 of doubles play. The Warhawks of Auburn Montgomery responded with a 6-3 win on court 3, but Adham Gaber and Youssef Nabil helped lock down the doubles point on court 2 with a 6-4 final.
 
Adham Gaber continued to have success in singles play, downing his opponent 6-3, 6-4 to give SBU their second point. However, UAM went on to win four straight points on courts 2, 3, 5, and 6 to take the 4-2 win over SBU. In that stretch, courts 2 and 3 were fought to third sets, both ending with 6-4 final scores.
 
Match Two
After falling behind 1-0 in doubles play, the Bearcats responded with victories on courts 2 and 3. Adham Gaber and Youssef Nabil won 6-4 on court 2, followed by Alvaro Nunez and David Szeri on court 3, 6-4 as well.
 
West Alabama was first on the board in singles play with a win on court 3, evening the score at 1-1. David Szeri had a tough battle with his opponent on court 4, but came out on top 7-5, 6-3 to give SBU a 2-1 lead. Max Sanoja then came up big on court 5 with a 7-6, 6-2 victory to put SBU one point away from victory. The Tigers didn't make it easy, as they won on courts 1 and 2 to make it a 3-3 tie coming down to the result on court 6. In a match that came down to the wire, Ilyes Khelifi held on for the win by scores of 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5) to help SBU upset #22 West Alabama.
 
The men's team will take on the University of Montevallo in Columbus, GA on Friday, March 19 beginning at 1:00 PM, and will face Columbus State on Saturday, March 20 at 8:00 AM.