DeLand, Fla. ? The 67th-ranked Stetson men's tennis team (15-4, 6-1 Atlantic Sun) didn't drop a set in singles play en route to a 7-0 sweep of visiting Mercer (4-13, 2-5 A-Sun) on Thursday. Sophomore Hicham Laalej (Meknes, Morocco) and junior Filip Kricka (Umag, Croatia) only dropped one game in each of their wins.
Laalej defeated Ivan Besancon 6-0, 6-1 at #2 singles while Kricka was victorious by an identical score at the #4 position against Matthew Poleon. Freshman Chris Swanteson (Vaxjo, Sweden) only lost four total games in his #6 match and senior Joey Jones (Titusville, Fla.) won his match in straight sets with only five games lost.
Jones and Laalej had an easy time of it in doubles as well, stopping Chapman Mitchell and Fernando Armendaris 8-2 at the #2 position. Kricka and senior Marcus Echtler combined for an 8-3 win at #1 doubles against Besancon and Tobias Ohrstrom.
With the win, the Hatters improved to 11-0 at home this season and are one win away from completing the first unbeaten home campaign in program history. Laalej won his 12th consecutive singles match to improve to 16-1 overall on the season.
The Hatters host Delaware on Saturday at 1 p.m. in a non-conference match to close out the home portion of its season. Echtler, Jones and fellow seniors Trevor Bach (Chelsea, Mich.) and Bret Feldman (Inverness, Fla.) will step onto the courts at Mandy Stoll Tennis Center as Hatters for the final time.
