WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 7, 2026) – It was the kind of atmosphere that college tennis is all about. A jam-packed crowd at the Tennis & Golf Center, the #1 team in the nation in town, with matches coming down to the wire throughout. Ultimately, the Tars fell just short, losing 4-3 Saturday afternoon.
The Buccaneers captured the doubles point, clinching courts two and three to do so. Still, Rollins would not be deterred, however. Playing it out until all doubles had finished, the number one pair of
Pete Tran and Richie Stoiberer created some momentum for the Tars to take into the locker room. The tandem battled, trading epic shots with Barry's number one duo of Simone Cavalleri and Riccardo Trione. Finally, after being knotted at five games apiece, the men donning the home uniforms pulled away, cuing a roar from the crowd. Barry had won the doubles, but Rollins had something to work from.
The Buccaneers are a tough opponent, and they continued to prove that on court four of singles. The visitors clinched in straight sets, doubling their lead in the process. Later, it was once again the road team finding victory on court two, thus extending the overall match deficit to three for the Tars. With their backs against the wall, and with each match increasing in intensity, Rollins was far from done.
No stage is too big for
Lawson Prather, and he continued to prove that today. Not only that, but Prather also solidified the old adage that age simply is just a number. The freshman, showing poise well beyond his years, took home a straight set winner over Barry's Yan Kodjoed to put the Tars on the board. Entering the match, Kodjoed ranked #1 in singles across all of division II. He had won eight consecutive singles matches prior to Saturday.
Prather's result sent a buzz throughout the crowd, energy
Fabian Gusic surged into a straight set winner of his own on court three. A back-and-forth first set saw Gusic prevailing 7-5. He then managed to clinch set two, 6-3, sending the crowd into a frenzy. It was yet another punch thrown by the Tars, showing they still had something left in the tank, a sentiment that continued to ring true across the final two matches.
While he would ultimately fall,
Nico de Giacomo showed incredible resolve on court five. The junior won the first set before dropping the second. He later fell behind 5-1 in the third but would just refuse to quit. With chants of "Let's Go Nico!" behind him, de Giacomo turned in some epic shots, including a sequence where he had to back pedal three straight times before spinning in a winner to force another game. The score book will read that he lost 6-3 in the deciding set, but the match was a barn burner.
So too was
Pete Tran's, who rallied to take home a third set win after dropping the first set. Tran responded to a 6-4 defeat in the opener with the same result, in his favor, in set number two. Then, after trailing 5-4 in the third, the sophomore rallied for three straight games, giving Rollins their third win on the day.
While Barry walks away with a 4-3 win, the match sets the stage for the rest of the season for Rollins. Reflecting on the match, head coach
Jay Friedman remarked, "Tough one today, but it was good to see them get a little nervous. Just a few too many errors to clean up on our end."
A big week ahead, which opens with division I Bucknell University on Monday, provides the opportunity to clean up those mistakes for Coach Friedman's squad. Then, on Wednesday, the Tuskegee Tigers visit for a women/men double header. Track the action on both days, and all season long, at Rollinssports.com.
