Saturday, January 31
Orlando, Fla.
9 a.m.
University of North Florida
at
Central Florida
Freshmen Marc Misanovic' (left) and Marcos Chiaretti
MEN'S TENNIS WEEKLY:
Ospreys face more tough tests
1/27/2009 1:36:05 PM | Men's Tennis
UNF hosts S.C. State Thursday, heads south for two matches
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –The University of North Florida men's tennis team's perfect record will be put to the test this week when the Ospreys face three tough challengers – one at the UNF Tennis Complex and two on the road.
Schedule
UNF (2-0) remains at home for its first contest of the week, hosting South Carolina State (0-0) at the UNF Tennis Complex at 11 a.m. on Thursday before heading south to clash with Central Florida Saturday at 9 a.m. and Florida Atlantic on Sunday at noon.
The defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion, S.C. State was picked in the MEAC southern division preseason poll to repeat that performance in 2009. UNF freshman Marcos Chiaretti faced the Bulldogs' Vickram Gautham in the first round of the C singles draw of the 2008 UNF Fall Invitational, defeating the foe 6-0, 6-0 on his way to taking the bracket title, which he did without dropping a set.
UCF (1-1) knocked off Atlantic Sun Conference member Florida Gulf Coast for its first win of the season after dropping its season opener on the road to No. 13 Tulsa. Blake Schwartz picked up the lone point in UCF's 6-1 loss at Tulsa in the No. 5 singles slot and upheld his unbeaten singles record against FGCU, playing at the No. 4 position.
FAU (2-3) opened its season with consecutive wins against Xavier and Florida A&M. The Owls current three-match slide started with a 2-5 loss to No. 11 Florida State and continued with losses to other top-25 teams. Neither No. 17 Miami or No. 24 Rice had an easy road to their victories over FAU. The Owls stuck close in both, falling 4-3 at Miami and 3-2 at home against Rice.
Week Recap
The Ospreys began their 2009 campaign in dominant fashion, bruising Bethune-Cookman, 7-0. UNF rolled through every match of the contest except one doubles match. In singles action, the Ospreys posted straight-set victories in the Nos. 1-5 position. Junior Ronnie Sang struggled early at the No. 6 position and dropped the first set, 6-3. He rebounded with a 6-4 second-set win and took the tiebreaker 10-5 to give UNF the match sweep.
In UNF's home opener, junior Federico Levi notched a straight-set No. 1 singles win against a nationally-ranked Georgia State foe. After UNF fell in doubles competition, Levi sparked singles play with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 69 Nejc Podkrajsek. Chiaretti (No.4), Sang (No. 6) and sophomore Graham Edgar (No.5) each captured must-have wins in singles action to help UNF to the 4-3 decision.
Who's Hot
Levi made his case for A-Sun player of the week by compiling a perfect singles record and going 1-1 in doubles action. He eased through his first singles match of the season, defeating Bethune-Cookman's Yannick Jackson by a score of 6-3, 6-1. Teamed with freshman Marc Misanovic', Levi helped the Ospreys to an 8-1 win in the first doubles decision of the season.
The highlight of Levi's weekend came in the upset of nationally-ranked Podkrajsek. The singles win avenged an earlier doubles loss (playing with Misanovic') to Podkrajsek and teammate Martin Shishkov (8-3).
Quotables
Head coach Igal Buberman on the past weekend: “I am glad Federico (Levi) was able to defeat a ranked player in straight sets. This result helps the kids understand why we put in so much time and effort into this program. Doubles were tougher against Georgia State, but the communication between players was pretty good.”
Buberman on the upcoming week: “We are looking forward to playing this weekend and know that each opponent is a lot stronger and will present a bigger challenge. The players are motivated and they look forward to testing their limits.”
Buberman's final thoughts: “One key to our season will be sticking together and utilizing every possible opportunity to become better competitors. No matter the opponent, the concept is the same. We are going into each match with plans to work on our tennis.”
Admission
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