LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 24 Florida Southern College men's tennis team fell short of an upset against No. 5 University of West Alabama in a 4-3 loss Monday afternoon at the Wynee Warden Tennis Center.
The Mocs fell to 13-5 overall after the loss against a top-five team in the nation. The Tigers improved to 11-6 overall after a doubles point win and half of the singles courts in their favor.
The doubles competition ended as a top-ranked fight on the courts with three nationally ranked doubles pairings between the two teams. The No. 18 group of
Chris Fok Kow and
Matteo Feggi were beaten by No. 5 Hammond/Hornung in a 6-0 shutout. At the #3 court,
Danny Thomas and
John Gidefjord lost 6-3 against the Tigers.
Mario Garoz and
Ryan Rajakar had their match against the No. 40 UWA pairing unfinished with doubles point secured to West Alabama.
In singles, Mocs battled with three court wins and a nail-biter fourth that would be the match decider in favor of the Tigers.
Inaki Braun Simo opened Mocs with a two-set win at #2 court, as did
Elliott Altman 6-2, 6-3 over his UWA opponent. FSC then had a court loss at #4 with
Alex Fascio unable to win his flight before Fok Kow battled in a three-set win against the Tigers. Garoz lost his court in three sets that led to a 3-3 tie into the final games for Gidefjord. Despite a set one win and a 3-0 lead in the third set, Gidefjord fell to UWA as the Tigers won 4-3.
The Mocs will host No. 1 Saint Leo University on Wednesday, March 29, set for a 3 p.m. start at the Wynee Warden Tennis Center.
