MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Fraysure
561-430-7148, jonathan.fraysure@fau.edu
FAU Men’s Tennis Shuts Out Colonials to Start Homestand
BOCA RATON, Fla. – (March 9, 2019) – The Florida Atlantic University men’s tennis team whitewashed visiting George Washington on Saturday, 7-0, to start a three-match home series this weekend, and the first of six in a row overall at the FAU Tennis Complex.
Notables:
· FAU (10-7) got on the board first by clinching the doubles points at No. 1 and No. 3
· In their first pairing in the top slot, Mehdi Laalej and Gabriel Sidney combined for a 6-4 win
· No. 3 was had by Alvaro Fernandez Horta and Hunter Robbins, making his collegiate debut, in a 7-6 (7-3) victory
· The first singles point came courtesy of No. 1 Jason Legall, winning 6-0, 6-2
· Laalej at No. 3 (6-1, 6-1) and Sidney at No. 4 (6-1, 6-3) made it 4-0, and the teams decided to play out the string
· Winning next was Fernandez Horta at No. 5, 6-4, 6-0
· Kirac Bekisoglu took a victory in the No. 2 slot, 6-5, 7-6 (7-2)
· And finally, wrapping the shutout was No. 6 Luis Fernandez Labarta, in a third set, 6-2, 4-6, 10-4
· The team had the opportunity pre-match to meet and honor former Owl Ed Mullen, who played for the squad in 1979. He is pictured with this story on the far right
Quotable:
Head Coach Ricardo Gonzalez
“Great win for our team against a very good George Washington team. We are getting better each day.”
“Tomorrow we have another challenge ahead of us and we are excited for another opportunity.”
Full Results:
FAU 7, George Washington 0
Doubles
1. Gabriel Sidney/Mehdi Laalej (FAU) def. Ben Barnett/Zicheng Zeng (GW) 6-4
2. Kirac Bekisoglu/Thomas Guy (FAU) def. Lawrence Sciglitano/Hanyu Liu (GW) 6-5
3. Alvaro Fernandez Horta/Hunter Robbins (FAU) def. Dennis Afanasev/Ryan Navarro (GW) 7-6 (7-3)
Singles
1. Jason Legall (FAU) def. Zicheng Zeng (GW) 6-0, 6-2
2. Kirac Bekisoglu (FAU) def. Ryan Navarro (GW) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
3. Mehdi Laalej (FAU) def. Ben Barnett (GW) 6-1, 6-1
4. Gabriel Sidney (FAU) def. Dennis Afanasev (GW) 6-1, 6-3
5. Alvaro Fernandez Horta (FAU) def. Lawrence Sciglitano (GW) 6-4, 6-0
6. Luis Fernandez Labarta (FAU) def. Hanyu Liu (GW) 6-2, 4-6, 10-4
What’s Next:
Two more home matches in two days are coming up for the Owls, against VCU on Sunday at 11 a.m., and then UNC Asheville Monday at noon.
– 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.
