WINTER PARK, Fla. (September 3, 2023) - Men's tennis started their year in the best way possible, sweeping Warner and Southeastern in both singles and doubles competition at the Hidden Dual on the Lake, held on Saturday and Sunday on campus.
On Saturday, the Tars opened up doubles against Warner, and swept all four matches. The All-American duo of
Luke Quaynor/
Efe Comu took down court one with a 6-3 final.
Guillermo Castaneda/
Richard Stoiberer made light work of their competition on court two with a 6-0 sweep.
Nico de Giacomo/
Charlie Putrino (court three) and
Moritz Stenzer/
Phillip McMurray (court four) each won their matchups 6-4.
Rollins jumped right back into action, this time lining up with Southeastern in doubles play. All four Tars' tandems once again captured victory, with head coach
Jay Friedman switching up the combos on courts B, C, and D. Stoiberer/Giacomo won 6-2 on B, Castaneda/Stenzer won 6-3 on C, and Putrino/McMurray won 6-4 on D.
Warner and Southeastern wrapped up Saturday with a six court singles matchup that saw the two team split three matches each.
Sunday morning featured six singles matchups between Rollins and Southeastern. The Fire were able to steal a pair of wins on courts one and three, but the Tars handled the remaining four to secure the win. Quaynor was solid on court two with a 6-3, 6-1 win. Stenzer also passed through number six with ease, winning 6-4, 6-1. The last two matches were slobberknockers as they each took three sets. On court four, the freshman de Giacomo walked away with a 5-7, 6-1, 11-9 comeback wni, while Putrino went 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 on number five to lock in the win for Rollins.
The Tars took a much needed break as Warner and Southeastern played doubles, with Southeastern taking three of four matches.
The two-day event wrapped up with the Tars and Royals squaring off in singles. This went much smoother for Rollins as they earned six wins. Quaynor played from first position and made light work of his opponent, 6-1, 6-1. Castaneda was a winner at 6-1, 7-6 (7) on court two. Stenzer had to put in extra effort on court three, but came out on top 6-2, 6-7 (5), 11-9. The bottom of the lineup had relatively easy wins with de Giacomo winning 6-3, 6-0 utrino winning 6-1, 6-4, and McMurray winning 6-2, 6-2.
From head coach
Jay Friedman:
"Overall, given the rain and Hurrican Idalia, we flew into this tournament with less than two practices, and I am very pleased with both how our guys played and how they responded to adversity. I look forward to the next stretch of finally settling in and working on some things before the ITA South Regional Selections come up in a few weeks. Big tip of the hat to our first year Nico, for grabbing his first handful of collegiate wins. I am very excited for his bright future with us."
The South Regional will be played in Lakeland on September 22-25.
