LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College men's tennis team earned their place in the NCAA Division II South Region tournament as a seventh seed to take on second seed Embry-Riddle in the first round of the South Region #2 bracket this Monday, May 9th.
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Center: Crotty Tennis Complex, hosted by Embry-Riddle.
Start Time: 10:00 a.m.
Coverage: Live Scores -
www.fscmocs.com/stats Tournament Page -
ERAU Host
7th Seed – The Moccasins – Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Florida Southern took the last at-large spot to make their first appearance in the regional tournament in six years. Mocs enter with a 10-8 overall record, and 2-6 in the Sunshine State Conference. Ranked as high as 22
nd in the nation, the Mocs have battled all year with difficult circumstances and tough opponents. After big wins over top 25 teams in the early part of the season, FSC is currently on a four-game losing streak, with their last win a 5-2 win over #35 Palm Beach Atlantic. Undefeated at home until last month, the Mocs lost their last matchup against the Eagles in a 5-2 decision.
Despite their SSC Quarterfinals loss to Saint Leo Lions a couple weeks ago, the Mocs have shown grit and fight in many of their matches. Many of the matches the last couple weeks have been close and just a couple flight points away from racking enough points for a match win. Florida Southern is led by
Valentin Hertweck, who spent most of his senior year nationally ranked as a singles player. He nearly beat No. 3 Bruno Faletto in the SSC tournament and right alongside
Oscar Sohl who has had a great season and 10-3 singles record. Hertweck teams up with
Chris Fok Kow as does Sohl with
Erik Nordblom to have the best doubles team records.
2nd Seed – The Eagles - Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Embry-Riddle is riding a third-place finish in the SSC Championships a couple weeks ago after they beat #9 Lynn in a 4-2 score. Their only loss in the tournament was a 4-0 loss to Barry. Their only other conference loss was to then #12 Lynn just before the regular season ended. Ranked fifth in the country, the Eagles have really found their groove with big wins the last few weeks and improving in their revenge match against the Lynn Fighting Knights in the third-place match.
The Eagles are led by #6 singles player Juan Ortiz Couder, who just won co-Athlete of the Year in the SSC Men's Tennis All-SSC awards. Couder has an 18-5 overall record this year and 5-2 record against nationally ranked opponents. Right behind is #12 singles player Alexis Guedy, also named to All-SSC First Team this year. Pairing of Couder and Luke Paschal earned All-SSC Second Team Doubles nod to go with their #32 pairing ranking. A 5-2 win over the Mocs their last time out, another battle in the postseason will set up a great competition.
FSC in the NCAA Tournament
The Mocs have an even 15-15 record in the NCAA regional tournaments after appearing in the regionals 18 straight years from 1996 to 2013. A single appearance in the regionals in 2016 marked the last time the Mocs went to the postseason tournament after a 5-0 loss to Barry. Their best finish in the NCAA Championships was a third-place finish in 1998 where they went 5-1 in NCAA postseason under Tim Gray. Florida Southern has won the south region tournament on four different occasions, the last being in 2002.
The Matchup – FSC vs ERAU
The Mocs have struggled when facing Embry-Riddle, losing their last 13 matches in their history. The last win was a 5-4 victory in February 2002 as Florida Southern won the first four matches in their ERAU series beginning in 1998, before their losing streak began in 2008. The match will mark the first time in history both teams have faced each other in the postseason, only playing four conference matches to this point.
An NAIA institution for many years, ERAU first appeared in the SSC tournament back in 2018, where they made their first and only appearance in the south regional tournament in a 5-1 loss to Lynn.
Other Matches
South Region #1
#1 Barry vs #8 Benedict College
#4 West Florida vs #5 Valdosta State
South Region #2
#2 Embry-Riddle vs #7 Florida Southern
#3 Saint Leo vs #6 Lynn
The winner of the match against Embry-Riddle will move on in the South Region to face the winner of Saint Leo vs Lynn. Overall winner of South Region #1 will join the #2 winner to join the other 14 regional winners to enter the Division II Championship Finals. The finals for both men and women will take place Wednesday, May 18th - Monday, May 23rd at the Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
