BABSON PARK - Florida Southern's 2010 season opener at Webber may not have been a family reunion, but it might have been the next best thing; and though Moccasin head coach Trey Heath was out-numbered two-to-one, it was Florida Southern that came out on top at the end of day. With Michael Knoedler picking up two points in a triumphant return to college tennis, and freshman Christian Lange also picking up two points, the Moccasins defeated the Warriors 9-0.
For the second year in a row, Trey Heath was matched against his father Bill on opposite sides of the court, but this time there was added twist. Tyler Heath, Trey's younger brother, was also involved in the match, playing #6 doubles for the Warriors in his first dual match. The freshman was paired with Heikki Riikonen, but the point went to Florida Southern as they were defeated by Lange and Guenther Fercher. That gave the Moccasins a 3-0 lead going into singles play and they added to their total with five straight sets wins and a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 victory by Fercher.
Knoedler also earned two points in his first match with the Moccasins in two years. A graduate student like Fercher, Knoedler re-joined the team this spring after winning 51 singles, and 55 doubles matches as a two-time All-American from 2006-08. He teamed with Roman Schirmaier for an 8-1 win at #1 doubles that got the match started, then notched a 6-2, 6-2 win over Rafael Teixeira at #1 singles.
Schirmaier, who was last year's #1 singles player for the Moccasins, also got a straight-set win at #2 singles, and Lange scored the decisive point with is 6-3, 6-0 win at the #3 position.
Nicolas Bigler and Ben Taylor were also opening day winners in singles, and Brian deMontfort helped Taylor win in doubles, as Florida Southern improved to 15-0 in season openers since re-instating men's tennis in 1996.
Florida Southern, ranked #13 in the country, will be on the road for two matches this weekend, taking on defending national champion and top-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State (GA) on Friday at 2:00, and 16th-ranked Lander (SC) on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
