LAKELAND, Fla. - Fire Men's Tennis made history Saturday afternoon, dominating singles play and claiming the program's first ever win over the visiting No. 3 Keiser Seahawks, 4-3.
The match between the two top-four NAIA-ranked teams did not start the way the No. 4 Fire would have hoped. Keiser controlled doubles, winning flights one (6-3) and three (6-2), and led on flight two (5-4) when the play was called, giving the Seahawks the doubles point. Keiser's Didrik Liljekvist then defeated SEU's
Mark Griffin (6-1, 6-1) at line five, giving the Seahawks a 2-0 lead.
Southeastern got on the board when
Piero Fernandez bounced back with an impressive win at line two over Yassir Kilani (6-2, 7-5).
Down 2-1, the Fire's confidence was boosted once more, as freshman
Gonzalo Fernandez beat Mathieu Strauss in his match at line six (6-4, 6-3) and tying the match at two.
Another Keiser win pushed the Fire to the brink, as Felipe Rivadeneira defeated SEU's
Alejandro Orihuela at line four (6-2, 6-4), giving the Seahawks a 3-2 lead and putting them one win from clinching the match.
It was time for heroics.
SEU's
Javier Gallego took care of business at line three with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Gilad Tamar, tying the contest at three and setting up the drama at line one, the final match yet to be decided.
That match featured NAIA #2 Shaheed Alam and Southeastern's
Diego Menendez. Menendez dropped to the first set, 6-4, but stormed back in set two, winning 6-2.
Menendez, fresh off of his first loss of the season in doubles, had his mind set on history and his second win over a NAIA top 10 player in the last three matches. The first two games went the way of Menendez before Alam claimed his first game, cutting his deficit to 2-1.
With everyone cheering him on, Menendez claimed the final four games, securing a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory, and the Fire's first ever team win over the Seahawks since the rivalry started in 2013. The moment wasn't lost on the team, as Menendez collapsed to the ground as his teammates piled on him after the final point was scored.
"It's special, Keiser and their coaches do a great job," said head coach Drew Dickens. "But credit to our guys, they got a huge win and I'm proud of them. Diego is a special player who came up big for our team in a crucial moment. We will now focus on training and keeping the momentum going."
With the win, the Fire remain undefeated on the season, a perfect 10-0 (3-0 SUN). Keiser falls to 7-2 (2-1 SUN).
Southeastern heads south on Friday to battle No. 24 Ave Maria University. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m..
