LAKELAND, Fla.- After coming in at No. 18 on the 2022 NAIA Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the Southeastern University men's tennis team concluded the season ranked No. 14 after a 14-7 record and trip to the NAIA National Tournament.
History came early for the Fire as they grabbed their highest ranked win in program history on February 16
th after defeating the No. 5 ranked Reinhardt University by a score of 5-2 after securing the doubles win and securing the win with a narrow, come-from-behind victory by Theo Preiswerk in singles play with scores of 1-6, 7-6 (5), and 6-4.
A little over a week later, the Fire earned another upset win over a ranked opponent as they defeated the No. 18 St. Thomas University by a score of 4-3 thanks to a strong performance by
Diego Menendez who defeated his opponent in two extra-session sets but would take the second tiebreaker by a dominating 7-0 score to clinch the Fire's lead and eventual victory.
The national ranked squad would go on to piece together a seven-match win streak including their fifth victory over Top 25 ranked opponents as they bested the No. 14 team, the University of Mobile, 6-1 and moved to 10-4 on the season.
Yet another Top 25 win wrapped up regular season play for the men as they defeated No. 24 SCAD-Savannah 6-1.
The Fire advanced to the SUN Tournament final for the second time in as many years with a 4-0 win over Ave Maria but fell to the top-seeded Keiser University by a score of 6-2 to take the SUN Tournament runner-up title.
After accepting an at-large bid into the national tournament, the Fire advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time in program history after overcoming a 3-1 deficit against Reinhardt University. In his toughest fought battle of the season, Martinez secured the Fire's comeback win after forcing a third set after dropping the first. In the third, he trailed 5-0 but mounted a comeback that gave him the 6-5 lead. Unable to edge out his opponent, the Eagles forced a tiebreaker set in which Martinez cruised to the 7-1 win. The Fire's season would end in the Round of 16 with a 4-1 loss to No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan.
Roy Stepanov and Fedrico Barbon were named the Sun Conference Doubles Team of the Year with Stepanov earning First-Team SUN honors and Barbon earning second-team honors. Stepanov was also named a second-team NAIA All-American for just the third time in program history.
Christian Dellacioppa, Stepanov, and Barbon were also named an ITA Scholar-Athlete for their success in the classroom.
