WINTER PARK, Fla. (February 20, 2026) – In front of a rowdy crowd, the Tars rolled past Florida Southern on Thursday afternoon taking the match, 5-2. The result gives Rollins their first conference victory and a signature top 10 win to launch their spring campaign.
The match was intense from the start, but it was the Tars setting the tone early, scoring the doubles point with a sweep across all courts.
Lawson Prather and
Nico de Giacomo seemed to find their grove as a pair, cruising to a 6-1 victory to put Rollins in position. Shortly thereafter, the overall match lead was snatched by
Pete Tran and
Richard Stoiberer. Playing from the number one line, Tran and Stoiberer conceded only two games, taking the match 6-2 and scoring the highly sought after doubles point. Later, with momentum already leaning in the direction of the Tars,
Mo Anterist and
Fabian Gusic made a statement. The duo battled their way to a 6-4 win on court two and swept doubles play in the process.
After a brief, five-minute intermission, the teams took their turns at singles with Rollins maintaining the advantage from the jump. First, it was Anterist, humming the tune of his recent doubles victory on court four en route to a 6-3, 6-1 straight set win.
Lawson Prather replicated the result with a straight set win of his own on line one. Prather went 6-2, 7-5 fighting his way to decide the match in the minimum, and giving the Tars a 3-0 overall match lead in the process.
Now needing only one match to seal the deal,
Pete Tran did not want the Rollins faithful to wait any longer. Tran wrapped up singles number six in straight set fashion, 6-4, 6-4, icing the match and sending the crowd into a frenzy. Meanwhile, playing on line two,
Richard Stoiberer continued his battle. The captain fell just short in a three-set effort, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6.
Florida Southern showed more resolve on line five with Bosko Boskovic taking a three setter over
Pietro Cappellaro. Still, the match was in hand by the time
Nico de Giacomo entered a third set tiebreaker. With the crowd on its feet and the support of the entire team behind him, de Giacomo added a cherry on top to the impressive win. His lengthy rally to clinch his, 2-6, 6-3, 10-7 bout exemplifies the type of team Rollins is proving themselves to be. Head Coach
Jay Friedman expressed a similar sentiment:
"Proud for these guys to get this win," he told one journalist after the match. "It is always, always, always going to be a close match with Florida Southern."
Friedman continued, "There's been a lot of questions since they rebuilt our home. This group beginning to see what it means to be represent ourselves professionally is fun. Looking forward to what is coming next."
So, what does come next for the Tars? That question would be answered with consecutive road conference matches. First, the men head for St. Pete on Tuesday afternoon to take on Eckerd. Later next week, team travels to Palm Beach Atlantic for a Friday afternoon contest.
For now, though, the team will continue honing their craft, making steady improvements day by day. Because a match like this, proves that their hard work is certainly worthwhile.
