#15 Mocs Head to Saint Leo For NCAA Regionals

LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 15 Florida Southern College men's tennis team will make its 21^st appearance in the NCAA postseason as the Moccasins travel to Saint Leo as part of the NCAA South Regional #2 field as a seven-seed. FSC will take on two-seed/No. 1 Saint Leo on Monday morning in a single elimination matchup.
 
NCAA SOUTH REGIONAL II
Opponent: No. 1/two-seed Saint Leo University
Location: Saint Leo, Fla. | Saint Leo Tennis Center
Date: Monday, May 13., 2024 | 10:00 a.m.
Tournament Page: https://saintleolions.com/sports/2024/5/7/2024-ncaa-division-ii-mens-tennis-south-region-may-13-14-2024.aspx
 
Florida Southern made the NCAA postseason by capturing the last at-large bid and seven-seed with Gulf South Conference, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and Sunshine State Conference champions earning an automatic bid. The NCAA South Region #1 host Valdosta State features Spring Hill, Barry, and West Florida.
 
"We are excited to embrace the challenge of the NCAA postseason next week," said second-year head coach Rhett Rollyson. "Our guys deserve this opportunity and have worked extremely hard to get to this point. Saint Leo is a great matchup for us, and we hope to put on a great match."
 
 
No. 15/Seven-Seed Moccasins | Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Stats
FSC enters with a 15-8 overall record with all but one of its losses against top-15 programs. The Moccasins have lost their last three matches against tough competition and an SSC quarterfinal loss, though the Mocs have had an incredible year matching last year's 15 wins thus far. The team's success has been highlighted by All-SSC First Team winners Chris Fok Kow and Mario Garoz. Fok Kow earned first-team honors in singles and doubles, paired with Garoz, and became the first Moccasin since 2013 to win a first-team award in singles. The senior from Balaclava, Mauritius also 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 and region, taking No. 2 court duties for the majority of his season and is currently ranked 24^th in ITA singles.
 
Garoz (ranked 70th in ITA singles) has an SSC-best 17 wins this season and matched Fok Kow's four wins against nationally ranked opponents. The Toledo, Spain native earned All-SSC First Team in doubles alongside Fok Kow and was named All-SSC Second Team for the second year in a row. 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 Lymington, England native is ranked 63^rd in ITA singles and has competed several times in doubles for the Mocs, mostly at the #2 or #3 courts.
 
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 17th 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 Braun Simo, Boskovic, Matteo Feggi, Ryan Rajakar, Russell, or Matthew Hewitt for experience this season. 
 
 
No. 1/Two-Seed Lions | Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Stats
Saint Leo captured the SSC regular-season trophy as the Lions complied an overall record of 20-3 with a 7-0 mark in conference play. Saint Leo has punched its ticket to six consecutive NCAA regional championship brackets. In 2023, the Lions, who claimed the No. 2 seed, earned a 4-1 first-round regional championship victory over No. 7 seed Lynn before finishing as South Region 2 runners-up with a 4-2 loss to No. 3 seed Barry.
 
Saint Leo features a trio of All-SSC First Team honorees as sixth-year Martin Soukal earned first-team status in singles and doubles action along with junior Vincent Thiel, who was tabbed All-SSC First Team in singles, while senior Luis Iriarte was named to the All-SSC First Team in doubles play. The Lions have claimed the No. 1 spot of the ITA rankings for several weeks and their losses have come by Barry twice this year (once in SSC finals and another in the ITA indoor championship) and the final loss to Valdosta State.
 
Aside from their All-SSC winners, the Lions are led by Nicholas Bacella with an undefeated conference record for singles and strong doubles competition alongside Ghali Mensour. In ITA singles rankings, Soukal is #2 and Thiel is #8 for the Lions. In doubles, Soukal and Iriarte ranks #28.
 
 
Series Matchup
The Mocs have faced the Lions once already in 2024, with a 5-2 loss to start the season on February 7. Despite the loss, FSC had a strong showing against SLU for the season opener that included a court three win by Garoz in two sets and a three-set winner for Fok Kow over Thiel. Boskovic narrowly lost the first set with a tiebreak loss and Hewitt took his court #5 to three sets against Iriarte which could've changed the match completely. Both teams have altered their lineups at times and will be facing familiar, though improved, competition on each side. This will be the first NCAA postseason matchup against each other.
 
 
Tournament History
The first NCAA postseason trip Rollyson, the Moccasins have their first regional matchup since 2022 when the team faced Embry-Riddle in a 4-0 first-round loss. FSC made NCAA postseason appearances for 18 straight seasons from 1996 to 2013, with its 19th appearance in 2016. The Moccasins are looking for their first NCAA postseason win since 2011, when FSC beat Morehouse 5-0 in the first round. Overall, FSC is 16-17 in the regional tournament.
 
 
Other Matches in NCAA South Region #2
No. 5/three-seed Rollins versus No. 11/six-seed Embry-Riddle will take place after the FSC match at 2 p.m. at the Saint Leo Tennis Center on Monday, May 13.
 
 
NCAA Championships
The winner of the FSC versus Saint Leo matchup will advance to face the winner of the #3/6 seed match to be played on Tuesday, May 14. That final matchup will produce a winner to join 15 others at the NCAA National Championships at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs on May 21-25, hosted by Rollins College and Greater Orlando Sports Commission.