SAINT LEO - Florida Southern concluded its 2015 season here late Thursday evening with a 5-0 setback to ninth-ranked Lynn in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament at the Saint Leo Tennis Complex on the SLU campus.
With the setback, the Moccasins conclude the season with a 5-19 overall record, while Lynn improved to 17-3 and moves to Friday's semifinal match against No. 2 seed and fifth-ranked Saint Leo.
In the SSC Championships, matches are halted after the clinching fifth point has been scored for a team.
On Thursday, Lynn opened the match, which was delayed nearly an hour due to weather earlier in the day, by posting three victories in doubles to take a 3-0 lead in the match. The Fighting Knights posted an 8-2 win at the No. 1 spot and an 8-4 win at the No. 3, but had to work for its win at the No. 2 as sophomore Fabian Lundberg (Akersberga, Sweden) and freshman Brian Slivonik (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) battled with Lynn's tandem of Daniel Riggs and Alessio Iannozzi all way to the end as Lynn's No. 2 team picked up an 8-6 win.
Meanwhile, in singles action, the Fighting Knights sealed their 5-0 win by picking up wins at the No. 1 and No. 4 spots.
At the No. 1 spot, Lundberg fell in straight sets (6-1, 6-3) to 11th-ranked Riggs, while freshman Blaine Miller (Orlando, Fla.) fell by identical 6-0, 6-0 scores at the No. 4 spot to LU's Mehdi Laalej.
The other singles were not completed as Lynn had already sealed the win with its two victories in singles after sweeping the doubles matches.
Thursday's match was the final one as a Moccasin for senior Charles Garneau (L'ancienne-Lorette, Quebec). Against Lynn, Garneau played No. 1 doubles with sophomore Laurent Mailloux (Montreal, Quebec) and faced Paolo Volpicelli at No. 5 singles.
The Mocs, though, are expected to return six of the seven players that saw action in Thursday's SSC Tournament first round match.
