#15 Men's Tennis to Face #8 Buccaneers in SSC Quarterfinal

LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 15 Florida Southern College men's tennis team seeks revenge as the Mocs enter the Sunshine State Conference championships as a six-seed to face No. 8/three-seed Barry University in the SSC quarterfinals on Friday afternoon at the Beerman Family Tennis Complex.
 
SSC Quarterfinal
Opponent: No. 8/three-seed Barry University
Location: Lakeland, Fla. | Beerman Family Tennis Complex
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024 | 1:00 p.m.
Tournament Page: https://sunshinestateconference.com/tournaments/?id=232
 
The Moccasins captured its 27^th SSC tournament appearance as the final remaining seed to take on a revenge match against Barry University after the regular season finale loss t the Buccaneers in Miami Shores. Florida Southern, who is seventh in the south region according to the latest NCAA rankings, will play on a familiar field as the Beerman facility played host to the ITA Regionals in the fall of 2023 with Florida Southern the hosts. Though a heightened environment, FSC will take the short trip across Lake Hollingsworth and hope for a strong home crowd for this year's conference tournament.
 
"It's exciting for us to have a conference matchup against the defending three-time national champions," said head coach Rhett Rollyson on the quarterfinal matchup against Barry. "To have meaningful matches in late April is huge. I like where we are as a team, and we have had a great season thus far. The guys are hungry for more tennis and look to capitalize on a chance to keep playing each day.  We hope to continue our mindset into a regional bid and further postseason action."
 
No. 15/Six-Seed Moccasins | Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Stats
The Moccasins have quite a task ahead but have a plethora of experience over the 2024 season to lean on. Ranked as high as eighth in the nation, the best since 2011, FSC enters with a 15-7 overall record highlighted by a 4-0 week of March 11. The Mocs opened the historic week with a 4-2 win over No. 4 Mississippi College on a Tuesday, a 4-1 win over No. 28 Auburn Montgomery on Wednesday, and the best win in program history as FSC beat No. 1 University of Indianapolis 4-2 on Thursday. FSC wrapped up its historic week with a 7-0 win against Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras. All but one of FSC's losses came against top-15 programs as FSC ended with a 2-5 SSC record heading into playoffs.
 
The success of the program in 2024, aside from the superior coaching staff and community support, has come largely from the leadership of captain Chris Fok Kow. A leader with SSC and NCAA postseason experience, Fok Kow is ranked No. 19 in ITA singles and set a new program record of four SSC Athlete of the Week awards in a single season. With a 16-3 record this spring, Fok Kow is one of the best in the conference, taking No. 2 court duties for a majority of his season. Joining Fok Kow as top records, Mario Garoz (ranked 67^th in ITA singles) has an SSC-best 17 wins this season and matched Fok Kow's four wins against nationally ranked opponents. At the No. 1 court, George Russell has proved a valuable asset in his first year with Florida Southern. Russell has faced some of the nation's best at the #1 court with three nationally-ranked wins.
 
The final spots of the FSC lineup have been filled by hard work and big wins by Inaki Braun Simo, Bosko Boskovic, Gabriel Jornert, and Edoardo Melindo who have a combined seven conference wins against the strongest region in the nation.  For doubles, FSC is led at the #1 court by Garoz and Fok Kow who are paired for 17^th in the nation and a 13-3 record (the best in the conference). The #2 and #3 courts in doubles have been filled by a variety of pairings that include Inaki Braun Simo, Boskovic, Matteo Feggi, Ryan Rajakar, Russell, or Matthew Hewitt for experience this season.  
 
No. 8/Three-Seed Buccaneers | Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Stats
Barry University swept FSC in the last time out with a 7-0 regular-season finale and matches FSC with three singles players in the top 75. Adam Lynch leads Barry with a No. 8 singles ranking and a 7-5 overall record, primarily at the #2 court. Joao Ferreira is No. 11 for singles with a 9-5 record, and 5-1 in conference play at the #1 court. The final nationally ranked singles player is David Rieme at #58, with a 10-1 overall record. Other top players in the lineup could include Bastien Rieme as a #5 court player, and other court help from Tim Riedel, Leo Caill, and Roberto Campoverde.
 
In doubles, BU has a #1 court with Ferreria and D. Rieme, who narrowly beat the Mocs by a 7-6 score, and are ranked #45 as a duo with a 4-5 overall record. Riedel and B. Rieme are ranked #18 as a pairing, with a 12-3 overall record and six conference wins. Lynch and Caill are the #3 court in the last SSC matchup and have a 2-0 SSC record when paired.
 
Series Matchup
Since 1996, both teams have faced each other 43 times, most recently as the regular season finale played on April 16 when the Bucs won 7-0 in Miami Shores. Overall, the Mocs are 7-36 against the Buccaneers, with the last postseason matchup on April 19, 2018, when FSC lost 5-0 in the SSC quarterfinals. Among all conference postseason action against BU, FSC has a 2-9 record with wins in the 2000 and 2002 tournaments. The last win against Barry was an 8-1 victory at home on March 18, 2007.
 
Tournament History
Florida Southern has a 19-28 overall record in the SSC tournament dating back to 1997, with 27 appearances. Mocs have lost its opening round match the last two seasons and the last win back in 2013 when the Mocs went 1-1 in the tourney beating Florida Tech 5-2 in a consolation game. This marks the first year of a six-team bracket, as opposed to an eight-team field from previous tournaments.
 
Other Matches in SSC
The other SSC quarterfinal matchup features No. 13/four-seed Embry-Riddle versus No. 34/five-seed Lynn, also on Friday, April 26 at 1 p.m. No. 1 seed Saint Leo and No. 2 seed Rollins have a first-round bye with the winner of FSC's match taking on Rollins on Saturday, April 27, at 1 p.m.
 
NCAA Postseason
Winners of each championship will receive automatic qualification to the 2024 NCAA Division II Championships. Regional rounds for the NCAA Championships will be played at non-predetermined sites between May 10 and 14. Finals for both men and women will take place May 20 to 25 at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida as part of the Division II Spring Championship Festival. This year's festival is hosted by Rollins and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission. The NCAA will announce postseason selections on Sunday, May 5 (men) and May 6 (women).