Box Score (.pdf)
Fort Myers, Fla. – The No. 5 seed USC Upstate men's tennis team saw its season come to a close on Friday evening with a 5-1 loss to the fourth-seeded Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in the first round of the ASUN Men's Tennis Championships from the FGCU Tennis Complex.
Upstate falls to 6-16 overall while Florida Gulf Coast improves to 8-12 on the season.
"Full credit to FGCU tonight," said assistant coach Tim McLane. "They are a really tough team, especially at home with a good crowd. Right from the start we were battling and gave ourselves plenty of chances, but things just didn't break our way tonight."
The Eagles captured the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 to take a 1-0 lead over the Spartans. In the No. 2 doubles match, the combination of Felix Ewers and Lenhard Haupt defeated Andres Alfonzo and Ezequiel Cerrini 6-4.
Florida Gulf Coast would then go on to win singles matches at No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 to earn the 5-1 victory.
Ewers put Upstate on the board in his No. 1 singles contest after topping Felipe Ramirez in straight sets 6-1, 6-0.
Ankush Arora also sent his No. 3 singles match into the third set against Oliver Landert. Landert won the first set 6-2 before Arora responded to take the second 6-2. Landert secured the match with his 6-3 victory in the third set.
"We went through a lot of learning experiences this year, but at the end of the day these guys competed hard and put in the work all year long," McLane added. "That is all we ask of them."
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Tennis Match Results
Singles competition
1. Felix Ewers (UPST) def. RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) 6-1, 6-0
2. RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) vs. Lenhard Haupt (UPST) 4-6, 7-6, unfinished
3. LANDERT, Oliver (FGCU) def. Ankush Arora (UPST) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
4. CERRINI, Ezequiel (FGCU) def. Fernando Bernardes (UPST) 6-1, 6-2
5. ALFONZO, Andres (FGCU) def. Ignacio Garrido (UPST) 7-5, 6-3
6. FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. Francisco Neto (UPST) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. LANDERT, Oliver/RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) def. Fernando Bernardes/Ignacio Garrido (UPST) 6-1
2. Felix Ewers/Lenhard Haupt (UPST) def. ALFONZO, Andres/CERRINI, Ezequiel (FGCU) 6-4
3. RUIZ, Mateo/FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. Ankush Arora/Francisco Neto (UPST) 7-5
Match Notes
No. 5 USC Upstate 6-16
No. 4 FGCU 8-12
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,4,6,3,5)
2017 ASUN Men's Tennis Championships
