The FGCU men’s tennis team (4-7) faltered in their first loss at home 3-4 to UAB (8-6).
“We played with unbelievable commitment in doubles today,” said head coach CJ Weber. “That was an important doubles point even though we weren’t playing our best. But UAB took the match from us in singles. We need to figure out how that happened and never let it happen again. The next two days will be very important for this team.”
In the doubles portion, the duo of senior Oliver Landert and sophomore Marcelo Tebet fell 1-6 to senior Stefan Gonzalez and sophomore Tim Dollman. The Eagles would then tie the doubles count as sophomore Felipe Ramirez and senior Austin Bates defeated senior Anru Fourie and junior Kenton Parton before juniors Mateo Ruiz and Ezequiel Cerrini defeated sophomores Henry Paiste and Nikolai Manchev 7-5 to secure the doubles point for FGCU.
In singles action, Ramirez would fall 3-6, 0-6 to Dollman. Cerrini would fall next losing 3-6, 1-6 to Gonzalez. Tebet would fall to Parton losing 4-6, 3-6 before Ruiz fell 6-7, 3-6 to sophomore Giovani Pasini as the Blazers won the matchup. The Eagles managed to get the final two single matches as Landert defeated Fourie 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 and Fernandez defeated sophomore Tom el Safadi 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
Up next, the Eagles host their final two matches as they play Grand Canyon and Illinois State before resuming conference play.