The Moccasin men got off to a good start in their first match of the Florida Blue Sunshine State Conference Tennis Championship Thursday, winning two of the three doubles matches, but Saint Leo came back to win four straight singles matches and claim a 5-2 decision at the Beerman Tennis Center in Lakeland.
In the SSC Championship, matches are halted after the clinching point has been scored. The loss dropped the Moccasins' record to 12-11. Saint Leo improved to 15-6.
The Moccasins got 8-5 wins from its No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams, with Benoit Paradis and Emanuel Lueber winning at No. 2 and Nathan Leavitt and Vladimir Barabash winning at No. 3.
Once the singles matches began, though, Saint Leo won in straight sets at No. 6, No. 4 and No. 2 before Aloua Adjenak claimed a three-set victory over Benoit Paradis, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 1 to clinch the match.
The Moccasins won't play again until the fifth-place match on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Saint Leo advances to Friday's semifinals, where the Lions take on top-seeded Lynn at 9 a.m. Friday.
