LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College men's tennis team upset No. 4 Flagler with a 4-3 Moccasin win Saturday afternoon at the Wynee Warden Tennis Center.
"This is a special one," said head coach
Rhett Rollyson. "This is the best win we've had here at FSC in quite a while, and it justifies the work we're putting in. To beat one of the top teams in the nation shows the power of this team. Thanks to the great crowd as the energy was amazing…like college tennis is supposed to be!"
The Mocs (4-3, 1-3 SSC), registering votes in the latest ITA poll, swept the doubles courts and had a dramatic comeback on two courts to win 4-3 over the top-five competition. The Saints (2-3, 0-0 PBC) managed three singles court wins but were unable to finish with a big upset by the Mocs.
In doubles,
Matteo Feggi and
Chris Fok Kow continued their success with a 6-3 win at #1.
Mario Garoz and
Ryan Rajakar won 6-4 and
JP Fujiwara teamed with
Edoardo Melindo for a 6-2 win.
With the doubles point secured, Florida Southern had a slight dip with a loss at #5 with Feggi losing in two sets. Meanwhile, on court #4,
John Gidefjord kept the competition with a remarkable 6-1, 6-1 win against his Flagler opponent. Fok Kow was unable to win in his two sets in a continued back-and-forth battle between the two teams.
FSC's
Lukas Bonfante got the start on #6 but was unable to win with a 6-4, 6-2 loss and Flagler with a one-point advantage and just two courts to go. Garoz had a fantastic show of grit as he won his first set, before a set two loss. In the third set, Garoz prevailed with a 6-1 set win and evened the overall team scores as
Alex Fascio was heading into his third set and match decider.
Fascio won his first set in a massive tiebreak win but had just lost his second set when the match was tied at three for team points. With a third set looming, Fascio stole the show with a 6-2 performance to win the match for the Mocs and a 4-3 upset of No. 4 Flagler.
Mocs will head to the USTA campus in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 28, for a 6 p.m. match against Davenport in a neutral site matchup.
