Saint Leo, Fla. (March 26, 2026) – Rollins fell at the hands of fourth ranked St. Leo Thursday afternoon in a tough road match. The loss, just the second on the season for the Tars, provides an opportunity to reset ahead of a big match to come on Sunday.
The Lions clinched the doubles point with victories on courts one and two to begin match play. The home team got the better end of a top ten matchup from line one, with
Richard Stoiberer and
Pete Tran on the wrong side of things for just the second time all year. After St. Leo officially snatched the point with a win from the middle, Rollins built some momentum from a court three victory. Freshman
Lawson Prather and captain
Nico de Giacomo seem to really have their grove as a pairing. With their 6-4 win today, the combination is undefeated across their last six matches.
Despite how things finished in the initial stages, St. Leo was able to capture any steam the Tars had and flip it right back in their favor. The Lions doubled their advantage with a win on five, while becoming one match away from the overall victory on court three. Both results happened in straight sets.
Then on two,
Fabian Gusic battled, but fell a few games shy in both his sets, going 4-6, 4-6. Court four also went in St. Leo's favor courtesy of Kodai Kato's 6-3, 6-2 effort over de Giacomo.
Meanwhile, the bookends of singles were still scratching and clawing, as has been the squad's MO all season long.
Pete Tran raced off to a fast start, resulting in a 6-2 first set. St. Leo responded, though, dropping the Orlando native 1-6, 4-6 to put a wrap on line six.
Still, Prather was certainly a bright spot Thursday. After doubles success, the seventh ranked singles player in the nation wouldn't quit with his back against the wall in solo play. A 2-6 first set score might lead one to believe that Prather's flawless day was in jeopardy. A cool, calm and collected 6-2 result in favor of the first year Tar dispelled that notion. Then, the Tulsa area product sent a statement, completing the march back with a 6-4 winner to put the guests on the scoreboard before things were all said and done.
The conference setback brings Rollins to 12-2 on the season, but there are substantial occasions to get back in the win column over the next week. First, the Tars will play host to twelfth ranked University of North Georgia on the inaugural College Tennis Weekend, hosted by ITA. Then, a week from today, the Tars will hit the road once more. This time, Coach Friedman's squad will head to Daytona Beach for another SSC bout with #6. Embry Riddle.
Be sure to check out updates all season long right here at
Rollinssports.com. Ahead of alumni weekend at the college, the Rollins tennis programs would like to thank all alums for their support of both teams. Your generosity and endless encouragement mean the world to us! We look forward to honoring you all this weekend!
