BRUNSWICK, Ga.—Sun Conference play didn't quite start the way the Southeastern men's tennis team would have liked.
A 5-2 loss on the road to Ave Maria meant the Fire had some ground to make up to reach the conference tournament.
Not only did they reach the tournament, they are on to the championship match after a 4-0 win over Ave Maria in the semifinal round on Thursday to make the final match for the second time in as many years.
Wins at Nos. 2 and 3 Doubles by
Victor Olivera and
Diego Menendez and
Theodor Preiswerk and
Enrique Martinez put the Fire up 1-0. Both doubles teams won by the score of 6-3.
Singles play was a battle with four of the six matches going to a third set. All-Sun Conference honoree
Roy Stepanov made it 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 and fellow all-league selection
Federico Barbon put the Fire within a point of clinching with a 6-4, 6-3 win at Line 3.
At No. 2 Singles, Olivera came back from a 6-3 loss in the first to take the second in a tiebreaker, 7-4, and won the third 6-1 to wrap up the match.
In matches that went unfinished, Menendez held a 5-2 lead in the third, Preiswerk was up 1-0 in the third, and Martinez was tied at six in the third.
The Fire will take on top-seeded Keiser Friday at 10 a.m. in the championship match.
