The FGCU men's tennis team (7-8, 2-0 A-SUN) earned a 4-3 victory over Brown (7-6, 0-0 IVY) at the end of a back-and-forth battle Thursday night at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
"These guys have been through a lot so far this season and we have played a really tough schedule," head coach CJ Weber said. "We've played a lot of 4-3 matches, but that's the type of things that we're looking for in our non-conference schedule. We're now prepared for anything in conference. I think a win like this does a great thing for the team heading into conference play."
The duo of juniors Feliksas Sakalauskas and Felipe Ramirez (6-4) finished its doubles match on court No. 2 with a 6-3 victory, leaving the point to be decided by the first and third courts. Both courts went back-and-forth until seniors Felipe Escobar and Mateo Ruiz (6-6) defeated the No. 78 duo of Roger Chau and Charles Tan 7-5. The win marked the Eagles' first over a ranked opponent in doubles play this season.
At the time the Eagles clinched the doubles point, junior Marcelo Tebet and freshman Pedro Maciel (0-1) were leading their Brown competitors 6-5.
Soon after singles play began, Ramirez (6-7) was forced to retire at the first court and the Bears picked up their first point of the match to even things up at 1-1.
Brown took its first lead of the afternoon with a 6-1, 6-0 straight set victory over Escobar (3-8) on the second flight. Senior Javier Fernandez (7-4) picked up his fourth-straight win with a 6-1, 7-5 triumph at the fifth flight that tied things up at 2-2.
The Bears took their second lead of the night with a straight-set victory at the sixth court. Tebet (8-4) responded for the Eagles with a 7-5, 6-2 win that tied things up at 3-3.
With things knotted up, the fate of the match came down to Sakalauskas and his Brown competitor on court five. After dropping the second set, Sakaulaskas (7-7) dominated the third to reward FGCU with its final 4-3 triumph over the Bears.
Results
Singles competition
1. Peter Litsky (BROWN) def. RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) 0-1, retired
2. Ching Lam (BROWN) def. ESCOBAR, Felipe (FGCU) 6-4, 6-0
3. TEBET, Marcelo (FGCU) def. Roger Chou (BROWN) 7-5, 6-2
4. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas (FGCU) def. Jacob Walker (BROWN) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
5. FERNANDEZ, Javier (FGCU) def. Charles Tan (BROWN) 6-1, 7-5
6. Robert Siniakowicz (BROWN) def. RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 2, 5, 6, 3, 4
Doubles competition
1. ESCOBAR, Felipe/RUIZ, Mateo (FGCU) def. #78 Roger Chou/Charles Tan (BROWN) 7-5
2. SAKALAUSKAS,Feliksas/RAMIREZ, Felipe (FGCU) def. Ching Lam/Jacob Walker (BROWN) 6-3
3. TEBET, Marcelo/MACIEL, Pedro (FGCU) vs. Peter Litsky/Ben Collier (BROWN) 6-5, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1
Up Next:
The Eagles will head to Stetson this Saturday, March 30 to start off a three-match road swing. The match against the Hatters is set for 2 p.m. at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center. Stetson currently holds a 10-5 advantage in the history between the two schools.
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