Furman 4, Mercer 1

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Furman men’s tennis team opened the 2014 season Saturday at the Seminole Quad at the Florida State Indoor Facility in Tallahassee, Fla.

The Paladins defeated Mercer, 4-1, to open the tournament.  Due to inclement weather in the Tallahassee area, singles matches were played first, and matches were called after four wins were reached.

The Bears took an early lead after Oliver Snaider blanked senior Alex Christ, 6-0, 6-0, at number one, but Paladin rookie Adam Steryous quickly evened the score with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Anderson Scarpa at flight three.  Freshman Juan Sheppard put Furman ahead after beating Austin Emmet, 6-3, 6-0, at number six, then junior Luke Synn increased the Paladin lead to 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-0 flight five win over Arsay Mohanty.  Junior Jacob Behal clinched the victory, topping Maunel de Luis, 7-5, 6-2, at number four.

The Paladins were scheduled to face South Alabama in the afternoon, but matches were delayed due to weather.  Results will be published as they come available.

Furman (1-0) is back in action on Sunday to conclude the Seminole Quad.  The Paladins face Florida A&M at 11 a.m. then play host Florida State at 3 p.m.

Georgia Tech 6, Georgia Southern 1

ATLANTA, GA- Georgia Southern men's tennis fell to Georgia Tech on Saturday, 6-1.

"We're disappointed with the result today but we fought hard," said head coach Nick Zieziula. "Both of the freshman stepped up and performed well today in their first dual meet action.  We need to get healthy over the next few days and get ready to open the Wallis Tennis Center on Friday versus FAU."

In singles competition, senior Oliver Webb was defeated by Georgia Tech's Nathan Rakitt, 6-3, 6-1. Albert Codina Sala fell to Carlos Benito 6-0, 6-4, and Kyle Hoffman was defeated by Eduardo Segura, 6-2, 6-4. Nico DeGroof pushed hard but lost to Casey Kay, 6-5, 3-6, 6-5 (7-4). Cole Fiegel beat Rafael Racy, 6-3, 6-2. Christian Kerrigan secured a win against Anish Sharma, 6-5, 6-1.

In doubles play, Oliver Webb and Nico DeGroof were defeated by Nathan Rakitt and Casey Kay, 6-3, and Kyle Hoffman and Rafael Racy lost to Carlos Benito and Eduardo Segura, 6-1. Eagles Albert Codina Sala and Marso Osorio were victorious against Cole Fiegel and Anish Sharma, 4-2.

The Eagles take on Florida Atlantic University on Friday, January 17th on their home courts.

Elon at Wolfpack Invite

RALEIGH, N.C. – In the first doubles action of the spring season for the Elon University men's tennis team, Cameron Silverman and Stefan Fortmann picked up a big win in the first round of doubles against 35th-ranked NC State at the Wolfpack Invite by topping Robbie Mudge and Sean Weber, the 54th-ranked pairing in the country.

Silverman and Fortmann were the only Elon duo to come away with a win in round one against the Wolfpack at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, but Robert Lindgren and Brian Kowalski forced a tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles against Thomas Weigel and Simon Norenius before falling 6-5(5).

The Phoenix then took on William & Mary in doubles after completing the singles portion of the match yesterday. Elon pairings came away 1-3 in the first round and 2-2 in the second round against the Tribe.

Juan Madrid and Jordan Kaufman picked up the only win for the Phoenix in the first round of doubles against William & Mary, topping John Banks and Ben Hoogland by a score of 6-4 on court No. 3. The pairings of Silverman and Fortmann and Lindgren and Kowalski both fell in tiebreakers on courts No. 1 and 2, respectively, by scores of 6-5(2).

On court No. 1 in round two against William & Mary, the pairing of Silverman and Kowalski topped Will Juggins and Scott Huang, 6-4, while Dan Sablik and Christopher Geaslen breezed by Zach Braig and Austin Davidow on court No. 4, 6-1. The pairing of Fortmann and Lindgren battled Banks and Hoogland to a tiebreaker, but ultimately fell 6-5(5).

In the second round of doubles action against NC State, the Wolfpack had it's way with the Phoenix going 4-0 in the session. Elon's best chance at a win came on court No. 3 as Geaslen and Madrid battled Beck Bond and Austin Powell to a tiebreaker, but ultimately fell 6-5(4).

The Phoenix finishes the Wolfpack Invite tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. when they take on NC State in singles.