Men's Tennis | 2/16/2017 3:00:00 PM
LAKELAND, Fla. - The Fire tennis teams will take on Ave Maria in their second home match of the year. Southeastern has had success against the Gyrenes in previous years as they were able to defeat Ave 8-1 on the women's side and 7-2 on the men's side in the 2016 season.
Southeastern Men: The Fire are coming off of a huge 5-4 win over the SCAD Bees in last Saturday's match. David Veliz, who has an overall record this season of 3-0, secured a straight set win on the number one courts. Felipe Barbosa claimed another win to move his record to 2-0 at the number six slot and 3-1 overall. Thomas Ortega claimed his first singles win of his young collegiate career 6-2, 6-1. The men's double play was exceptional winning two of the three matches. Both Veliz and Hugo Pires played together for the first time in doubles last Saturday and the pairing seemed to click defeating their opponents 8-2. The new pairing of Barbosa and Ortega seemed to pay dividends as they were able to capture their first win as a duo.
Southeastern Women: Posting a 2-3 record thus far, the Fire women aim to get back on track this week after falling to SCAD. The women have faced some tough opponents thus far but were able to gain valuable experience as they head deeper into the season. Madeline Wills collected a pair of wins at the number two and three courts. Sharriene Ricardo, a freshman from Willemstad, Curacao recorded her first win in the number one slot in their match against Spring Hill. She currently holds a 2-3 singles record, as well as, a 2-3 doubles record with her partner Kelsi Black. All three of head coach Bill May's doubles pairings have had success this season locking up a pair of wins in their first five matches.
Ave Maria Men: The Gyrene men are currently on a two game slide and are yet to win a game in either match. Last season the Gyrenes finished one game below .500 with their first team win coming against Webber International in late November. In the opening match of the season, the Gyrenes faced off against #8 Lynn University. Although falling 9-0 to Lynn, the doubles pairing of John Towey and Sam Perenich showed some fight claiming four points against Lynn's number three doubles pairing. The Gyrenes are returning both junior Brian Schmidt and sophomore David Zuleta which combine to make up the team's number one doubles pairing.
Ave Maria Women: Led by head coach Curtis Allen, the Gyrene women are off to an 0-1 start after falling victim to Warner University. The Gyrenes will look to their only senior Marianna Vargas for some experience and leadership. The native of Barquisimto, Venezuela captured the team's first singles win defeating Warner's Paula Ordonez. The Gyrenes are hoping the addition of Kaylee Kutchta will be able to add some doubles and singles alue to the roster.
Play begins at Edgewood Tennis Center at 11:30 a.m.
