By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team split its first two matches as part of a weekend-trip down in Boca Raton, Fla., first claiming a 4-3 victory over Stetson, before falling 4-1 to the host Florida Atlantic in a match that resumed Sunday morning after darkness suspended the tilt Saturday.
A key win in doubles play helped push the purple and gold to a win in the opener over the Hatters (3-4), as Tech (2-5) secured victories in the No. 2 and No. 3 matchups en route to the point. Wenceslao Albin and Riku Kubota took down Colin MacNamara and Clement Hamel, 7-6, in the No. 2 position, while the rookie tandem of Rafael Tosetto and Lucca Silva carded a 6-3 win over Antoine Sanchez and Dennis Moses in the No. 3 spot.
The No. 1 slot swung Stetson's way, as Josh Laka and Tim Gennes narrowly edged Elias Grubert and Carlos Vicente, 7-5.
Rafael Tosetto helped set the tone in singles play for the Golden Eagles, notching a 6-3, 6-2 win over Louis Gorregues in the top spot in the day's first finished singles matchup to push the Tech advantage to 2-0. Tosetto's triumph was the only singles duel that ended in two sets.
Stetson would go on to win the next three affairs with wins in the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 matchups, but behind wins in the bottom two positions, the Golden Eagles soared back to win the match.
Wencesla Albin tied the tilt at 3-3, showing resiliency after falling 6-3 in the first set of the No. 5 battle with Christian Mills. Albin took home a 6-3 nod in the second set and a 6-1 victory in the third to give the Golden Eagles the point that squared the affair.
Deadlocked at 3-3, Gonzalo Garcia put together a dramatic finish in the sixth and final singles clash to push TTU to the finish line. The sophomore out of Barcelona, Spain dropped the first set 7-5 to Josh Laka, but bounced back in compelling fashion with a 6-2 victory in the second set and a 6-1 nod in the third set to give the Golden Eagles the win.
Despite winning the first set 6-4, Riku Kubota was upended in the next two by Clement Hamel in the No. 2 position, while a similar fate hit Fanis Kontopoulos in the No. 3 spot as the junior out of Corinthos, Greece claimed a 6-1 win in the opener, but fell in the next two sets to Antoine Sanchez.
Tim Gennes registered the other Stetson point with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 win over Carlos Vicente in the No. 4 slot.
After resuming Sunday morning after darkness suspended Tech's second match at Florida Atlantic, the Golden Eagles were tripped up 4-1 by the host.
The Owls (7-5) used nods in the top three singles positions to register the win. Jason Legall knocked off Rafael Tosetto, 6-2, 6-3, in the top spot, while Kirac Bekisoglu took down Elias Grubert, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in the No. 2 affair and Mehdi Laalej defeated Carlos Vicente, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 in the No. 3 battle.
Senior Wenceslao Albin registered Tech's point in the match with a 7-5, 6-1 triumph over Ignacio Garcia in the No. 4 position.
The remaining two duels did not finish. Gonzalo Garcia won the first set 6-2 and led 5-2 in the second set over Alvaro Fernandez Horta in the No. 5 position when it was called and Lucca Silva's battle with Luis Fernandez Labarta in the No. 6 tilt did not finish as well.
FAU took the early lead in the match with wins in all three doubles contests. Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia defeated Riku Kubota and Wenceslao Albin, 6-5, in the top spot, while Kirac Bekisoglu and Thomas Guy collected a 6-4 win over Gonzalo Garcia and Carlos Vicente in the No. 2 position and Mehdi Laalej and Alvaro Fernandez Horta took home a 6-2 nod over Rafael Tosetto and Lucca Silva in the No. 3 slot.
The Golden Eagles will end their stay in the Sunshine State with a Sunday meeting against DePaul.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information