MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Fraysure jonathan.fraysure@fau.edu
BOCA RATON, Fla. – (March 11, 2019) – The Florida Atlantic University men’s tennis team battled for a crucial doubles point, then swept the top three singles pairings to shut out a third straight opponent, defeating UNC Asheville Monday at the FAU Tennis Complex, 4-0.
Notables:
· The doubles scores were all tight. FAU (12-7) won the No. 1, with Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia taking a 6-4 decision
· After UNC Asheville (10-2) eked out the win at No. 2, No. 3 not only came down to tiebreaker, but to extra points
· Kirac Bekisoglu and Thomas Guy were down 6-4 in the tiebreak, but battled back and scored all of the last four points to win 7-6 (8-6)
· Singles had less drama. Legall won in straight sets first, at No. 1, 6-3, 6-3
· Taking the fourth point of the day was No. 3 Mehdi Laalej, winning on an ace, 6-2, 6-4
· The clincher came on Court No. 2, with Bekisoglu going over, 6-4, 6-2
Quotable
Head Coach Ricardo Gonzalez:
“Another great win for our team against a very good VCU team. The boys are really starting to compete well as a whole and gaining confidence in their games.”
Full Results:
FAU 4, UNC Asheville 0
Doubles
1. Jason Legall/Ignacio Garcia (FAU) def. PATTEN, Henry/CULL, Olly (AVLM) 6-4
2. NOLAN, Oli/DAOSAENGSAWANG, S. (AVLM) def. Mehdi Laalej/Gabriel Sidney (FAU) 6-3
3. Kirac Bekisoglu/Thomas Guy (FAU) def. FENDER, Quinn/MORKEL, Charlie (AVLM) 7-6 (8-6)
Singles
1. Jason Legall (FAU) def. PATTEN, Henry (AVLM) 6-3, 6-3
2. Kirac Bekisoglu (FAU) def. NOLAN, Oli (AVLM) 6-4, 6-2
3. Mehdi Laalej (FAU) def. MORKEL, Charlie (AVLM) 6-2, 6-4
4. Gabriel Sidney (FAU) vs. DAOSAENGSAWANG, S. (AVLM) 6-7 (5-7), 3-2, unfinished
5. Ignacio Garcia (FAU) vs. CULL, Olly (AVLM) 7-5, 4-1, unfinished
6. Alvaro Fernandez Horta (FAU) vs. BIERBAUM, Leo (AVLM) 6-4, 4-1, unfinished
What’s Next:
Two more home matches are next for the men’s squad, both on this upcoming Saturday. At 9 a.m., the Owls host Conference USA foe UAB, and then come back to the FAU Tennis Complex courts at 2:30 p.m. to take on UConn.
– 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.
