ALTAMONTE SPRINGS â€" Florida Southern led 2-1 after doubles play Thursday, but saw 5th-seeded Saint Leo win four of the five singles matches that were completed, as the Lions upset the 4th-seeded Moccasins 5-3 in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference Championships.
Saint Leo (14-8, ranked #27 in the country)Â got on the board first with an 8-0 win from its top doubles team of Matt Nicholson-Lewis and Victor Lozier, but Florida Southern (13-8, ranked #25) answered by taking the other two doubles points, with Benoit Paradis and C.J. Johnson giving the Mocs the lead.
In singles play, Johnson and Nathan Leavitt won their first sets, but the Lions took the first set in the other four matches. Lozier hung on for a 7-5 win in the first set of his match against Paradis, providing a possible turning point for the Lions. He went on to win the decision at the #2 singles spot, as did Nicholson-Lewis at #1, and Aloua Adjenak at #3.
Johnson, meanwhile, completed his match for Florida Southern at #4 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Pablo Chavez, but Tom Gleeson provided the clinching point for Saint Leo with a 6-4, 6-4 win at #5. It gave the two teams a split in their two encounters this year, with Florida Southern winning 5-4 in the regular season.
Saint Leo will go into the semifinals to face top-seeded Barry, while Florida Southern receives a bye, and will play on Saturday at 2:00 in the 5th-place match against either Eckerd or Florida Tech. Joining Saint Leo and Barry in the semifinals will be Lynn and Rollins, both 5-0 winners on Thursday.
