ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — No. 14 Florida Southern College men's tennis fell to No. 3 Flagler College 6-1 in a tough season-opening match on Saturday at the Pollard Tennis Center.
Flagler secured the doubles point with victories on court one and court three. Aniss Rafiq and Ilian Borlee defeated Florida Southern's
George Russell and
Onur Turgut with a 6-3 score at No. 1 doubles, while Filip Kana and Aly El claimed a 6-4 win over
Mario Garoz and
Matthew Hewitt at No. 3 doubles. The match on court two between
Gabriel Jornert and
Bosko Boskovic against Simon Malis and Noah Paterson was left unfinished with Flagler leading 5-4.
In singles play, Flagler extended their lead by capturing five of the six matches. Raphael Rousson quickly put Flagler ahead with a 6-2, 6-2 win over
Youssef ElShafei at No. 6 singles. Aly El followed with a 6-2, 6-0 victory against
Mario Antonio Morales at No. 5 singles. Aniss Rafiq added another point for Flagler, defeating Turgut 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.
Ilian Borlee clinched the match for Flagler with a 6-1, 7-6(4) win over
Marco Cinotti at No. 3 singles. Florida Southern's lone singles point came from Garoz, who overcame Malis 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 at No. 1 singles. Filip Kana closed the day for Flagler with a close-fought 7-6(4), 6-2 victory over Boskovic at No. 4 singles.
Up next for Florida Southern is the home opener against Lynn University on Saturday, Feb. 14, at noon at the Wynee Warden Tennis Center in Lakeland, Florida.
