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Both the Georgia Southern men's and women's tennis programs have a long and storied tradition of success since the very first season of intercollegiate competition in 1974. But the Eagles are soaring to new heights in 2023.

With the men's tennis team earning a No. 69 national ranking by the ITA earlier this week, both the men's and women's tennis teams at Georgia Southern have earned their first national ranking by the organization in program history. The women's team checked in at No. 74 on February 28.

Going into this weekend's Sun Belt action, the men's team sports an impressive 12-3 overall record, while the women's team is equally impressive at 10-3. The combined 22-6 record from the two teams is tied for the third-best combined start to both programs to a season and the best start since the 1980 season, 43 years ago. At that time, the women's program was competing in the AIAW - the NCAA did not sponsor women's tennis as a sport until 1982.

Both teams have also had a student-athlete honored with a weekly Sun Belt award as Nanaka Kijima was the women's Player of the Week on March 1st and Pierre Mouesca was the men's Player of the Week on March 8.

Men's tennis senior Alexandros Roumpis, who hails from Athens, Greece, and women's tennis senior Paula Hijos, who hails from Jaca, Spain - each came to Statesboro during the 2019-20 season. Since they've been at Georgia Southern, they've seen their share of successes with the Eagles. Roumpis has won 40+ singles matches in his career and was the Sun Belt's Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week in February of 2020. Hijos, meanwhile, has also eclipsed the 40-win mark in singles and is a three-time Sun Belt Conference Academic Commisioner's List honoree.

Both reflected on the great start to the season for both programs and also gave us a little insight on the close relationship between the two teams.

"Every year we feel like the program is elevating and continuing to getting better," Roumpis said. "This has been a team effort, even before my time at Georgia Southern, and we have been embracing the culture that this team possesses. Being part of the tennis team means being there for your teammates and fighting with them both on and off court."

"We have always been very competitive and worked very hard," Hijos says about the women's program. "During my time here, the level has risen every year and with the newcomers, the expectations are there because we know what we are capable of. We just try to get better and work hard every day to accomplish all of our goals."

The men's and women's teams work closely together, sharing practice and training facilities throughout the Fall and the Spring, so the teams develop a close relationship. Naturally, that leads to success breeding success between the two teams, building a lot of momentum surrounding each program.

"The relationship between both teams has always been very positive, and we always support each other," Hijos said. "Both teams have a lot of international people, so that also brings us all together."

"We always create a nice atmosphere when the other team is playing and we try to be there for every match," Roumpis said. "We also celebrate together! It is such a nice environment we have built."

A lot has led to the early season success for the programs, including competitive Fall seasons and a challenging non-conference schedule. Roumpis credits the early challenges for helping bring the Eagle men's tennis together. "The strength of this team has always been in the friendships and the culture that we have embraced. Those things are paying off. We consider our squad a family, and we are always there for each other."

Hijos agrees. "I think everyone is very motivated and putting in a lot of effort," she said. "We work hard, push each other to get better and to believe in ourselves. We play for each other, so when we are competing, we are all connected."

Just how far can the Eagles go in 2023? For the men, picking up a win over Georgia State in the conference opener has set the tone for a program that last sported a winning conference record in 2018. "The sky is the limit," Roumpis said. "We have already been making history, by getting ranked for the first time. We're just a group of friends fighting for each other. We constantly want to prove people wrong. We believe we have what it takes to go all the way and win the conference championship!"

For Hijos and the Eagle women, they've tasted success at the Sun Belt level before by making it to the 2019 championship match and finally breaking through for the 2021 Sun Belt title and an NCAA Championships berth. "Our goal is to be playing on the last day of the conference tournament, and fight for another championship!"

Both seniors are appreciative of the time they've put into Eagle tennis and Georgia Southern in general. The knowledge that they are a part of something that, even with the early season success, is still only going to get better means a lot.

"I'm so thankful that I have been a part of this program, and thankful for everyone that is a part of it," Hijos said. "Georgia Southern tennis is something special and it just keeps getting better!"

"I just want to state that these four years have been the best years of my life, with a lot of ups and downs," Roumpis said. "But I’m so happy that I have made a home far away from Greece, and I can say that I have a second family in here. During these years so many people have shaped me as a player and as a person and I am beyond fortunate for this. I could never imagine my self without Georgia Southern."

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