WINTER PARK, Fla. (April 14, 2022) – The 26th-ranked Rollins men's tennis team dropped a 4-2 decision to visiting Hawaii Pacific on Thursday. With the loss, the Tars fall to 7-8 on the year, while the Sharks improve to 11-1. Prior to the match, seniors
Andrea Brignacca and
Denis Golubev were honored.
COACH'S QUOTES:
"With it being Senior Day and to have two very special guys in Denis and Andrea out there battling as well as they did right to the end against the seventh-ranked team was very cool," Head Coach
Jay Friedman said. "Hats off to them for competing and for their time here in Winter Park. We were in it today right until the end and had several opportunities. We are all looking forward to getting another crack at the SSC next week at IMG."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Doubles
- The Sharks opened doubles play with a win on court three.
- HPU clinched the doubles point after the 16th-ranked tandem of Jordi Walder and Jan Pleva bested the 17th-ranked duo of Efe Comu and Mikkel Baumann 6-4 on court one.
- Seniors Brignacca and Golubev battled the 47th-ranked team of Jakub Beran and Robin Sanz to a 6-6 score, with the match being left unfinished once the doubles point was clinched.
Singles
- Rollins got the first point in singles play when Jan Heine was forced to retire, giving Baumann a win on court five. Baumann was ahead in the match, 6-2, 2-0, at the time of the retirement.
- After the Sharks retook the lead with a win on court four, Comu knotted things up at 2-2 with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Pleva on court two.
- Court six saw Phillip McMurray win the first set over Ryohei Arai, 7-5, before being forced to retire in the second set, trailing 5-4, giving Arai the win.
- Hawaii Pacific clinched the match when 61st-ranked Sanz bested Brignacca on court three, 7-5, 7-6 (4).
- One the match was clinched, the final singles match, a heavyweight battle on court one featuring HPU's Walder, ranked second in the country, against Golubev, ranked third, was abandoned. At the time of the abandonment, the two titans were tied at a set apiece, with Walder winning the opening set, 7-5, before Golubev bounced back with a 6-2 win in set two. Golubev was leading set three, 3-2, when the match was called off.
UP NEXT:
The Tars will head to the IMG Academy in Bradenton for next weekend's Sunshine State Conference Championships, where they will be the No. 6 seed. Rollins will learn its opponent tomorrow, following the conclusion of the Lynn vs. Embry-Riddle match. If Embry-Riddle wins, Rollins will take on Saint Leo; if Lynn wins, the Tars will battle ERAU. The SSC Championships get underway next Friday, April 22.
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