LAKELAND â€" Benoit Paradis and Emanuel Lueber put Florida Southern in the lead with a 9-7 win at number two doubles, before Paradis started a run of five straight singles wins and Lueber clinched the match with his own individual win, to give the Moccasins a 7-2 victory over Merrimack.
The Moccasins (9-9, ranked #23 in the country) and Warriors (7-4) split the first two doubles matches of the day, with each side winning an 8-6 decision, including Nathan Leavitt and Vladimir Barabash at number three. Paradis and Lueber then teamed up for their second win in as many days as playing partners to put the Mocs ahead.
After three tight matches in doubles play, Florida Southern’s five points in singles competition all came in straight sets, with a 6-3 win by Jorge Gutierrez at the number five position the closest score in any of them. Merrimack, which is ranked #5 in the East Region, did pick up another point, however, as Chris Barnhart gave them a win at number three singles.
By the time Barnhart won for the Warriors though, the Moccasins had already clinched the match with wins from Paradis, Charles Garneau, Carl Lundberg and Lueber. Paradis and Lueber dropped only two games in their respective wins at number one and two, with Lueber taking down Petar Golijanin, 6-1, 6-1.
Florida Southern will end a stretch of four matches in four days when it hosts Queens (NY), the #25 ranked team in the nation, and #2 in the East Region, on Friday at 3:00 p.m.
