University of North Florida
Ouachita Baptist
UNF advances to national title match for first time since 1995
5/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 13, 2005
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla.- The University of North Florida men's tennis team accomplished something Friday that it hadn't been able to do since 1995; earn a trip to the championship match of the NCAA National Tournament. With its 5-2 defeat over No. 11 Ouachita Baptist, UNF set up a rematch with No. 1- ranked West Florida, scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
The No. 9 Ospreys (23-6) battled with the Tigers on Friday, taking two close matches in doubles, 9-7, and pulling out a hard-fought three-set victory in singles to close out the match.
"I thought that everyone fought hard today", head coach Tom Schrader said. "We worked hard all year to get an opportunity like this, now we get the chance to go out, have fun, and just enjoy the experience."
West Florida (29-2) will look to ruin the experience for North Florida as it tries to repeat as national champion. The Argonauts beat up on UNF 7-2 in Pensacola, Fla. in March.
"This is a different match", Schrader said. "That was a long time ago and we are a better team now. Plus the pressure is on them to repeat. Nobody expects us to win."
The Ospreys would like nothing better than to leave the Division II ranks with a national title.
"This is it, our last chance to get that Division II title we have been working so hard for", Schrader said. "In the mean time, we are just going to enjoy every bit of this and go out and play the best we can."
Doubles
1. Escallon/Gomes (UNF) def. No. 18 Rabin/Akapian (OBU) 9-7
2. Smid/ Vana (OBU) def. Gabay/Pereira (UNF) 8-4
3. De Polignac/Terrera (UNF) def. Chong/Costa (OBU) 9-7
Singles
1. No. 10 Eduardo Pereira (UNF) def. Emilien Rabin (OBU) 6-1, 6-3
2. No. 27 Jose Maria Terrera (UNF) def. Vagen Akapian (OBU) 6-1, 6-4
3. German Escallon (UNF) vs. Jakub Smid (OBU) DNF
4. Leonardo Gomes (UNF) vs. Ondrej Vana (OBU) DNF
5. Elad Gabay (UNF) def. Frederico Pintaluba (OBU) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4
6. Alejandro Chong (OBU) def. Glen Marshall (UNF) 6-2, 6-3
