MURFEESBORO, Tenn. – (April 19, 2019) – A comeback victory for the doubles point, and three straight singles wins gave the Florida Atlantic University men’s tennis team a 4-0 win Friday over UAB and sends the Owls into the semifinal round of the 2019 Conference USA Championship.
Notables:
· The No. 2 doubles duo of Mehdi Laalej and Gabriel Sidney were first in with a result, winning 6-3
· After UAB (8-13) tied it with a win at No. 3, Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia put the Owls (18-9) on the board with a comeback, tiebreak victory (7-6 (7-1))
· Two straight-set singles wins put FAU a point away from clinching, with Alvaro Fernandez Horta taking No. 6 quickly (6-0, 6-2), followed a few minutes later by No. 2 Kirac Bekisoglu (6-4, 6-1)
· The shutout win was earned in three sets at No. 4, with senior Gabriel Sidney putting it away even after falling in the first, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Quotable
Head Coach Ricardo Gonzalez:
“Today was a very tough battle against a very good UAB squad. Happy for our team to get through to the semifinals. Tomorrow will be another tough test so we need to focus on recovery now.”
Full Results:
FAU 4, UAB 0
Doubles
1. #76 Jason Legall/Ignacio Garcia (FAU) def. #83 Roman Postolka/Michal Lusovsky (UAB) 7-6 (7-1)
2. Mehdi Laalej/Gabriel Sidney (FAU) def. Giovani Pasini/Tom el Safadi (UAB) 6-3
3. Daniel Janko/Jasper van Kleef (UAB) def. Kirac Bekisoglu/Alvaro Fernandez Horta (FAU) 6-4
Singles
1. Jason Legall (FAU) vs. Roman Postolka (UAB) 2-6, 6-3, 2-4, unfinished
2. Kirac Bekisoglu (FAU) def. Michal Lusovsky (UAB) 6-4, 6-1
3. Mehdi Laalej (FAU) vs. Jasper van Kleef (UAB) 6-2, 3-6, 4-2, unfinished
4. Gabriel Sidney (FAU) def. Daniel Janko (UAB) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Ignacio Garcia (FAU) vs. Tom el Safadi (UAB) 6-2, 2-6, 3-4, unfinished
6. Alvaro Fernandez Horta (FAU) def. Giovani Pasini (UAB) 6-0, 6-2
What’s Next:
The Owls’ opponent in the semifinal round will be determined later Friday. They will face either Charlotte or Rice on Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern.
– FAUSports.com –
Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
