LAKELAND, Fla.- The No. 24 Southeastern University Fire men's tennis team earned a pivotal 4-3 win over the No. 18 St. Thomas University Bobcats on Saturday afternoon at the Beerman Family Tennis Complex.
The Fire set the tone in doubles' play versus the Bobcats.
Roy Stepanov and
Federico Barbon secured a quick 6-3 win at the top line before
Victor Olivera and
Diego Menendez earned SEU the doubles' point with a 6-3 win of their own at the second line.
Theodor Preiswerk and
Enrique Martinez cemented the doubles' sweep of STU with 7-6 win at line three after winning the tiebreaker 8-6.
SEU doubled its advantage to 2-0 with a victory at line three singles by Barbon in straight sets.
St. Thomas got one back with a two-set win at line four and then took line six in another two-setter to even the match at 2-2.
Stepanov put the Fire back on top 3-2 at line number one in two sets, as he took a second-set tiebreaker 7-4.
After taking the first set on a tiebreaker 9-7, Menendez found himself in another extra session for set number two. However, Diego stood tall and dominated the second tiebreak 7-0 to earn the win and clinch the Fire victory by earning the team a 4-2 lead.
Martinez fell at second-line singles in three sets.
The Fire are back in action on Monday versus Davenport University at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. Match time is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
