FGCU MTEN @ USF Recap

The FGCU men's tennis team (0-1) produced a strong result in doubles but USF (1-0) would storm back in singles en route to the 5-2 final Saturday afternoon.

"I felt USF played the better match today," said head coach CJ Weber. "We came out and did our business in doubles, but USF sustained the level in singles and beat us out in the long run. It was a good match for us to learn more about what we need to focus on this year."

"What was really nice was we were able to win without playing our best tennis," said USF head coach Ashley Fisher. "The tennis will come, and we'll get better as the season goes along. I'd much prefer to have the competitiveness and the problem-solving ability, which the team was able to show collectively today when we got a win after losing the doubles point"

Junior Feliksas Sakalauskas and sophomore Juan Montes (1-0) gave FGCU its first doubles win of the season on court No. 3 with a 6-4 victory. Despite USF responding with a win on court No. 2 against seniors Mateo Ruiz (0-1) and Javier Fernandez (0-1), the Green and Blue received the clinching point from junior Marcelo Tebet (1-0) and senior Ezequiel Cerrini (1-0) as they registered a 6-4 win.

Sakalauskas (1-0), who was making his debut after transferring from Virginia Tech, carried the doubles win momentum onto court No. 4 as the Lithuanian produced a 7-5, 6-0 triumph. The tide then began to turn into the home side's favor as the Bulls knotted up the match 2-2 with a win on court No. 5. From there, USF snagged the remaining three courts for the 5-2 final. Senior Felipe Escobar's match (0-1) was the only one to go into three sets as the senior dropped a hard-fought 6-1, 6-7, 4-6 decision.

Up Next:
FGCU will hit the road and travel to Phoenix, Ariz., from Jan. 25-26 for matches against Grand Canyon (1-0) and Sacramento State (0-1).

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