PENSACOLA, Fla. (May 11, 2026) –The Tars took care of business Monday, defeating conference foe Florida Southern, 4-2 to advance to Tuesday's South Region #2 Championship. The men nabbed the doubles point and added three singles courts afterwards, setting up a date with West Florida for a spot in the NCAA's Final 16, taking place out in Surprise, AZ next week.
 
This time of year, the stakes are the highest they have been all season, and the bar raised even higher amid back-and-forth doubles play. Rollins put themselves in position behind a dominant performance by Lawson Prather and Nico de Giacomo. The pair's 6-1 win from court three set the tone, but the Mocs quickly answered from the top line by the same score. That left the German duo, Mo Anterist and Fabian Gusic battling with all eyes on them. The match swung back and forth in the early stages, but ultimately the Tars number two tandem came out on top. A Rollins roar rippled through West Florida's Ralph "Skeeter" Carson Tennis Complex, as the team came together from the middle before dispersing to their respective singles courts.
 
Florida Southern was resilient all day, and it especially showed in the early moments of solo action. The Mocs took a lead behind victories in straight sets on both courts four and five. Yet, the spirit of the Tars never wavered, and their opponent's lead proved to be very brief.
 
The Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year was the first to begin the pendulum swing back to Rollins. Prather was convincing in the opener, dictating the tempo in set one to the tune of a 6-1 score. But the Mocs top line man, Mario Garoz, was an SSC first team singles player for a reason. Garoz responded by the same score to pull the match even. Still, maintaining his composure, the Tulsa native was masterful in the decider. Like it was magic, the first year Tar gathered six games in short order, taking home a 6-1 third and creating a stalemate.
 
Moments later, Pete Tran put a bow on his match in straight sets. The Orlando area product prevailed 7-5 in his first set, cracking down when it mattered the most. After the Mocs' Bosko Boskovic evened the score, the Tars sophomore anchored his line behind consecutive games, displaying inspirational passion after earning the set advantage. The momentum Tran created was palpable on all courts, but especially his own. After exclaiming to his comrades, "We didn't come here… just to lose," the second-year man cruised to a 6-1 win in set two, putting Rollins ahead for good and firing up his teammates in the process.
 
Following Pistol Pete's win, Nico de Giacomo was in the process of writing the script for a Tars' South Region #2 Championship appearance on court three. The captain's 6-3 first set was so good; he had to replicate it in set number two. Finishing the match by the same score, de Giacomo officially stamped a tournament win and gave Rollins their 21^st across the entire Spring.
 
Elsewhere, Fabian Gusic was writing up a comeback from line two. Falling in the first set, the veteran clawed even before having to call it quits in the third set tied at two games apiece.  
 
Reflecting after the match, head coach Jay Friedman remarked, "Really proud of our team today. We got pushed in many ways and in the end, what matters most is that we are who we intend to be as people."

The Tars know that their impact goes beyond the players they are on the court. This reality was only reaffirmed by the team's audible discussion over their Spring term grades on the way back to the hotel after the win. 
 
Friedman continued, "Further, to put us at 21 wins on the year and put us now with the team from 2004 feels really good. We have so much respect for those guys. Short turnaround and we know we will face all kinds of adversity tomorrow."
 
This year's team has a chance to avenge an NCAA Tournament loss that 2004 team suffered at the hands of Argos. That mission gets underway tomorrow at 11:00am ET.
 
Be sure to check out Tournament Central for the latest notes ahead of tomorrow!