May 11, 2006
Charleston, S.C. -
Final 2006 Release in PDF Format
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It was a season of close calls for The Citadel men's tennis team as the Bulldogs closed out seven matches by a score of 4-3 as the team finished the year with a 10-12 record, 4-5 in the Southern Conference. Sophomores Daniel Dossetor and James Eason shined for The Citadel with both receiving two All-Conference honors while Eason closed out the season as the only player in the Southern Conference to go undefeated in SoCon play, going 18-3 overall and 9-0 in the SoCon.
Dossetor received All-Conference honors in doubles (first team) with Eason, as well as singles (first team). Meanwhile Eason received only Second Team All-SoCon honors in singles despite going undefeated in conference play in addition to receiving First Team doubles honors.
The Bulldogs opened up the regular season with a trip to Conway, S.C., to face Coastal Carolina and brought home a 5-2 victory to start the season off on the right foot. The Citadel was then immediately thrown down the gauntlet after two weeks of preparation when the NetDogs traveled to Clemson, S.C., for the Clemson Invitational. Facing the host No. 25 Tigers, the Bulldogs were swept in Tigertown, 7-0, as The Citadel was only able to muster one doubles match win, an 8-6 decision. Daniel Dossetor and Derek Jose posted that 8-6 victory over Clemson's Sander Konig and Clement Reix.
In the second match of a doubleheader at the Clemson Invitational, the NetDogs dropped a 6-1 decision, this time facing the Trojans of Troy. Dossetor recorded the lone Bulldog point, scoring a 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over Troy's Irving Morales. Rebounding off that defeat, the NetDogs closed out the Clemson Invitational with a 4-3 win over Tennessee Tech, in a preview of what most the season would hold. The Bulldogs took the doubles point then edged TTU in the singles matches to hold on for the win. The match against Tennessee Tech holds particular significance as sophomore James Eason was moved to No. 3 singles and, with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 win over Tennessee Tech's Tiago Gilioli, began a streak of wins that would be unmatched in the Southern Conference in 2006.
After a week's break, The Citadel opened up conference play in Spartanburg, S.C., traveling to Wofford. In 2005, the Bulldogs edged Wofford 4-3, both in the regular season and in the SoCon Tournament and The Citadel continued that trend into 2006, taking their third consecutive 4-3 decision over Wofford.
Finally, after almost a month on the road, the traveling Bulldogs returned to the friendly confines of the Earle Tennis Center for their first home match of the year, as they rolled over Davidson, 6-1. The NetDogs had started hot by this point, accumulating a 4-2 overall record and taking their first two Southern Conference contests. Immediately following that match, the Southern Conference honored James Eason for the first of many times in 2006, awarding him the men's tennis Player of the Week honor.
The NetDogs were unable to keep their momentum going as Georgia Southern rolled into Charleston and put a halt to the Dogs' three-match winning streak, taking the 4-3 contest from The Citadel. A shake up in the lineup woke the NetDogs up as The Citadel rebounded three days later with a 5-2 dropping of UNC Greensboro.
Continuing their seven match homestand, The Citadel then kicked off a marathon of five matches in four days, starting off with hosting the 49ers of Charlotte. The Bulldogs made a little bit of history as they recorded their first win over Charlotte in school history, a 6-1 thrashing of the 49ers. Dossetor highlighted the match, recording his first win over a ranked opponent on the season with a dramatic straight set victory over No. 81 Roy Sichel. After winning the first set 6-1, Dossetor fell down by as much as 5-2 in the second set before rallying to tie the set at six games apiece. Dossetor then ran the table in the tiebreaker, 7-3, to take the 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over Sichel.
The Bulldogs kept their momentum rolling as they notched their third consecutive win of the season the next day with a 6-1 defeat of James Madison. Eason strolled to another victory with a 6-3, 6-0 win over JMU's Bob Allensworth as he began to exert his dominance over opponents.
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Sophomore Daniel Dossetor
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The NetDogs' momentum couldn't aid them against No. 54 Virginia Tech as they fell, 6-1, but Eason continued to shine. The Hokies' No. 2 singles player, Alexei Sergeev, dropped down to No. 3 singles to attempt to disrupt Eason's winning streak but the sophomore from Christchurch, New Zealand, made Sergeev another mark on the wall with a 6-1, 6-0 win. In the second match of a doubleheader that day, Eason notched his winning streak up to nine with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Richmond's Matt Stillwagon, but the Bulldogs dropped the 4-2 decision as they closed out five matches in four days and a seven match homestand.
The Citadel left home briefly as they fell at Elon, 5-2, before returning home to face the tough-minded Mocs of Chattanooga. Down 3-1 and with their backs against the wall, the Bulldogs were facing their fourth consecutive loss before igniting an improbable rally that propelled the Bulldogs to a 4-3 rally as Eason's 11th consecutive victory earned him his second Player of the Week honors for the 2006 season.
Marquette came to town and used a rally of their own to notch the 4-3 victory but the most surprising aspect of the match was not The Citadel's almost victory against the BIG EAST Conference power, but the Golden Eagles would edge The Citadel in the Bulldogs' fifth 4-3 decision of the season, sixth if you count the 4-2 match against Richmond. However, the big loss came at No. 3 singles as Trent Hagan's 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win gave him a claim that less than a handful of opponents could boast about: a win over James Eason. Eason's winning streak came to a halt at 11 consecutive matches as Hagan delivered Eason's first loss in close to a month. It would be the last time that Eason would lose a match in 2006.
A 6-1 thumping of Bucknell gave the Bulldogs some momentum heading into their trip to Hawaii, where they fought torrential rains more than they fought opponents. The Citadel was able to quickly sweep Wisconsin-Green Bay, 7-0, but was unable to face No. 14 BYU-Hawaii as unusually hard torrential rains plagued the islands.
The rain followed the Bulldogs back to the mainland, at least in a mental sense, as The Citadel would drop their final five matches of the season, including a 4-3 match at Appalachian State and a 4-1 match against the College of Charleston in the Southern Conference Tournament.
The Citadel bids adieu to three seniors - Ananda Sawmynaden, Nick Medica and David Lara - but welcomes back All-Southern Conference Honorees Dossetor and Eason.
