JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The University of North Florida men's tennis team turned in one of its best performances of the year on Saturday, en route to a 6-1 romp over Stetson at UNF Tennis Complex.
"We have a lot of respect for the Stetson program, and we came out sharp and prepared," Head Coach Adam Schaechterle said. "This was the most complete performance of our season so far."
The Ospreys started the match on a roll, clinching the doubles point in short order. Seniors
Leonardo Nahar and
Pedro Davisson rolled to an 8-2 victory at No. 3, followed quickly by senior
Daniel Sotomarino and sophomore
Norbert Nemcsek grabbing an 8-2 win of their own at No. 2.
Seniors
Moritz Buerchner and
Julien Belair then battled for an 8-4 victory at No. 1 to seal the doubles sweep for UNF. With the wins, the Ospreys are 12-3 in Atlantic Sun doubles matches and have won 10 of the last 11 doubles points.
Buerchner kept the momentum rolling in singles play, as he grabbed a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 1 to put UNF up 2-0 in less than an hour. Belair followed that with a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 3 that served as the senior's tenth-straight singles victory, the longest such streak since UNF moved to Division I.
Minutes after Belair's win, Sotomarino earned the clinching point for the Ospreys, polishing off a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2 to give UNF an insurmountable 4-0 lead.
With the match in hand, Nemcsek earned a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 4 and Davisson grabbed a hard-fought 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 5 before Stetson pulled a point back at No. 6 to make the final score 6-1.
"This was a great team performance and I was especially proud of Pedro, who took down a player that's had a lot of success in our conference the last couple of years," Schaechterle said. "We had a great crowd today and we hope to see them back tomorrow for Senior Day against Florida Gulf Coast."
With the win, the Ospreys move to 11-7 on the year, including a flawless 5-0 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference play. Stetson drops to 14-3 with the loss, with a 5-2 record in conference matches.
UNF will be back in action on Sunday when it wraps up its home schedule with a 2 p.m. match against Florida Gulf Coast. The Opsreys will recognize their five seniors in a short ceremony between doubles and singles play. Admission to all UNF home tennis matches is free to the public, or follow along on Twitter at @OspreyMTEN.
Complete Results
#66 North Florida 6, Stetson 1
Singles competition
6. Nathan Debut (STET) def.
Leonardo Nahar (UNF) 7-6 (4-7), 6-1
Doubles competition
Stetson 14-3, 5-2 A-Sun
North Florida 11-7, 5-0 A-Sun; National ranking #66
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,3,2,4,5,6)
T-2:59 A-119