LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 24 Florida Southern College men's tennis team was unable to complete the upset of No. 1 Saint Leo University Wednesday afternoon at the Wynee Warden Tennis Center.
The Mocs (13-6, 2-4 SSC) won the doubles point in dramatic fashion on a tiebreak but were unable to keep the momentum into singles. The Lions (16-1, 3-0 SSC) handled a majority of the singles courts to escape Lakeland with a 5-2 win.
The doubles competition began with a fantastic display of talent at the #1 court as
Matteo Feggi and
Chris Fok Kow, now ranked ninth among Division II pairings according to today's ITA poll, won 6-4 over No. 43 Castillo/Marrero. A loss on #3 for
Danny Thomas and
John Gidefjord evened the field for a point-clinching #2 court between
Mario Garoz and
Ryan Rajakar and the Lions. A neck-and-neck flight went to a 6-6 tie as the Mocs outlasted their opponents with a 7-6 (7-5) score.
A tough field for singles with four Saint Leo courts ranked in the top 75 Division II singles players. The only court win for the Mocs in singles was a great job by Garoz to defeat No. 28 Vincent Thiel in two sets. Garoz won 6-3 in the first and a 7-6 (10-8) score for the second set.
Inaki Braun Simo took No. 18 Soukal to three sets in a close flight but ended in a loss for FSC. Rajakar, Gidefjord, Fok Kow, and
Elliott Altman each dropped their court as SLU won 5-2.
The Mocs will hit the road for two matches in Augusta, Ga. beginning against No. 26 Augusta University on Friday, March 31, at 12 p.m. and Sunday, April 2, at 12 p.m. against No. 45 Georgia College, both at Newman Tennis Center.
