NATCHITOCHES, La. – Sophomore Fabian Anthin and junior Leon Nickel opened play in the 2025 Southland Fall Master tournament Friday morning in Natchitoches, La. While Nickel and Anthin had a tough doubles battle, Nickel managed a small bit of revenge in his singles match.
 
Nickel, the tournament's No. 2 overall seed, squared off against the third-seeded Etienne Marty from rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. It was a hard fought match that saw Nickel take and early led with a 7-5 decision in the opening set. Although the second set went to a tiebreak, Nickel held off his opponent with a 7-6 (7-3) decision.
 
Anthin and Nickel took to the court first squaring off against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Matthieu Coignet and Mikel Garmendia. Unfortunately, the Cardinals' duo came up just a bit short falling in a tough match, 6-3, 6-4.
 
Nickel returns to action Saturday against top seed Alejandro Hernandez from UIW for the singles title. The championship match will take place at 1 p.m. (barring any weather delays) from the Jack Fischer Demon Tennis Complex in Natchitoches.