WINTER PARK, Fla. – For a second straight
season, the Rollins Tars men's tennis team ousted the Florida Tech
Panthers in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference 2009
Tennis Championships, 5-1, Thursday.
The win marks the third season in a row, the Tars advance to the
SSC semifinal.
En route to the victory, Rollins got off to a solid start after
capturing a pair of victories in doubles action.
Neil Clausen and Gustavo
Carvalho teamed up for the victory to get the Tars on the board
first. They defeated Jonathan Hanna and Cory Hodes, 8-6, before
the thirteenth-ranked tandem of Jeff
Morris and Adrian Tan downed Noe Losmozos and James McLane,
8-6 in the top spot. The Tars' top duo has 19 victories on the
season and is riding a six-match winning streak.
Finishing at the same time as the top doubles slot, Nick
Rowlands and Jonathon Emmet fell, 8-6 to the Panther's Drew
Hollis and Michael Schmidt.
Needing three victories in singles play, the Tars leaned on Tan,
Clausen and Andrew Johnson to seal the victory. No. 33 Tan
eased in the No. 1 slot with a 6-2, 6-2 thumping over McLane.
Playing at the second position, No. 35 Neil
Clausen used straight-sets to defeat Losmozos, 6-4, 6-4 to earn
his 17th victory of the season, seventh in a row.
Johnson won with ease in the sixth spot with a 6-3, 6-2 decision
over Yan Carlo Rodriguez to improve to 10-3 on the year.
With the match already decided, Morris, Carvalho, and Rockwood
would leave their respective matches unfinished.
The Tars advance to their semifinal match against top-seeded and
host, Lynn, Friday, April 17 at 11:30 a.m. In the regular-season,
the Fighting Knights narrowly edged Rollins, 5-4, back on March
22.
#15 Rollins 5, Florida Tech 1
04/16/09 at Boca Raton, Fla.
Singles competition
1. #33 Adrian Tan (ROLLINS) def. James McLane (FTM) 6-2, 6-2
2. #35 Neil Clausen (ROLLINS) def. Noe Losmozos (FTM) 6-4, 6-4
3. Jeff Morris (ROLLINS) vs. Cory Hodes (FTM) 6-1, 2-3,
unfinished
4. Gustavo Carvalho (ROLLINS) vs. Jonathan Hanna (FTM) 7-6 (7-5),
2-3, unfinished
5. Bill Rockwood (ROLLINS) vs. D.J. Pate (FTM) 4-6, 4-3,
unfinished
6. Andrew Johnson (ROLLINS) def. Yan Carlo Rodriguez (FTM) 6-3,
6-2
Doubles competition
1. #13 Jeff Morris/Adrian Tan (ROLLINS) def. Noe Losmozos/James
McLane (FTM) 8-6
2. Neil Clausen/Gustavo Carvalho (ROLLINS) def. Jonathan Hanna/Cory
Hodes (FTM) 8-6
3. Drew Hollis/Michael Schmidt (FTM) def. Nick Rowlands/Jonathon
Emmet (ROLLINS) 8-6
Match Notes
Florida Tech 15-9
Rollins 16-7; National ranking #15
Sunshine State Conference Tournament - Match #3
Rollins advances to SSC Semifinals
