LAKELAND, Fla.—The men's and women's tennis teams will conclude their regular season with back-to-back conference matches before heading into the Sun Conference tournament.
Tomorrow, the Fire will take on Warner University at the Edgewood Tennis Complex, followed by a road contest with Webber International on Saturday. Before the match against Warner, the Fire tennis teams will honor the seniors at 10:30am.
The Men:
The men's team has posted a 6-6 record so far this season, but has tallied four of those six wins on their home courts and is currently on a three match winning streak. This momentum should bode well for the Fire as they head into their match with Warner.
David Veliz, who was named the Sun Conference player of the week twice, has been instrumental in victories for Southeastern. He has an individual record of 7-1, while he has registered wins in six of his last eight doubles matches.
Warner comes into their bout with the Fire at 7-6 with a 2-3 conference record. After winning seven of their first ten matches, the Royals, who were ranked 15
th in the preseason poll, have struggled as of late, and have dropped their last three contests. Francisco Perafan, who competes as the number one player on the team, won seven of his first nine matches this season, five of which were in straight sets.
Webber is trending in the same direction as their cross-town rival, as they have yet to win a match all season. The Warriors have been shutout in eight of their ten competitions and have a 0-5 record in conference play. In their most recent match, a 7-2 loss to Huntingdon College, freshman Andrew Scott and junior Diego Gonzolez were the only Warriors to earn wins.
The Women:
The Southeastern women will look to even their conference record over the next two matches. The Fire, who are currently 1-3 in conference play, have won three of their last four contests. Despite facing tough opponents in the first half of the season, including three teams ranked in the top 20 in the country, the women's team has battled back to hold a 6-6 overall record on the year.
Madeline Wills has performed well for the Fire, as she has tallied an 8-1 singles record since February 3
rd. The senior has also won her last four doubles matches with
Emily Acierno at her side.
Warner will try to gain some momentum from their match with the Fire after entering the day on a four match losing streak. The Royals had gotten solid results and went on a three game winning streak earlier in the year; however, in each of Warner's six wins this season they have failed to score more than six team points. Every match the Royals have tallied more than two points in, they have come out victorious, but Warner has been shutout in seven of their nine losses.
The Webber women's team picked up the first win of the season for both the men and the women after defeating winless Ave Maria by a score of 4-3 earlier this month. Juliana Fuentes and Manuela Vazquez were key contributors in the victory, as they notched points in their singles matches as well as their doubles matches, giving Webber the one point advantage. Webber now holds a 2-7 record after picking up a win against Cornerstone University.
The match between the Fire and the Royals is set to begin at 11am tomorrow morning.
