JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's tennis team earned its eighth win in a row and first Ohio Valley victory in its conference opener Friday, downing Eastern Illinois 6-1 on the road.
 
Sophomore Joaquin Vallejo claimed his third singles win in a row, while the duo of Sergio Lizarraga and Aljaz Kaplja improved to 4-0 in their last four doubles matches to lead the Gamecocks (8-4, 1-0 OVC) to the win over the Panthers (10-11, 0-1 OVC).
 
Vallejo and Alexander Vishnevskiy began the afternoon with a 6-1 doubles win at No. 3, and Kaplja and Lizarraga secured the day's first point with a thrilling 7-6 win at No. 1 after JSU dropped the No. 2 set.
 
The Gamecocks came within one set of running the table in singles play, taking five of the six head-to-head matchups.
 
Jordi Blanchar, Vallejo, Guillermo Agost, and Lizarraga each claimed their singles matches in two straight sets at No. 6, 2, 3 and 5, respectively. Vishnevskiy dropped a three-set heartbreaker (6³-7⁷, 6-2, 5-10) at No. 4 to Daniel Hernandez for EIU's lone point of the day.
 
Kaplja labored in his two-set win at No. 1 over Freddie O'Brien, going to extras in the first frame, 7¹⁰-6⁸, but put the Panther ace away 7-5 in the second game.
 
The Gamecocks next return to the JSU Tennis Courts Friday, March 29 to host Austin Peay. Doubles action against the Govs begins at noon.
 
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