DeLand, Fla. ? The Stetson men's tennis team (8-3, 3-0 Atlantic Sun), ranked tied for 75th in the nation in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, hosted and defeated the squad it was tied with, A-Sun rival North Florida, Thursday afternoon at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center. The Hatters rolled past the Ospreys 6-1 to extend their winning streak to six matches and end UNF's win streak at five.
Four Hatters won matches in both singles and doubles, including sophomore Hicham Laalej (Meknes, Morocco), who ran his singles record to 9-1 this season on the strength of his fifth consecutive victory. Junior Filip Kricka (Umag, Croatia) also won his fifth consecutive singles match today. Seniors Marcus Echtler (Venice, Fla.) and Joey Jones (Titusville, Fla.) also won twice today.
All five Stetson singles victories were in straight sets with Laalej and Kricka only dropping four games each in two sets. Jones won in straight sets with only five games going to his Osprey opponent.
UNF is the third nationally ranked opponent Stetson has beaten in the last 12 days, following #58 South Alabama and #51 Tennessee Tech.
“To beat a Top 75 opponent and a solid team like UNF is always a great achievement,” Head Coach Pierre Pilote said. “Today we played excellent tennis from beginning to end. Overall, I am extremely pleased with the level of intensity from our players. They have faced one excellent team after another and they keep on raising their level of tennis.”
Stetson is back in action Saturday morning at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center against A-Sun foe Jacksonville. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. after the conclusion of the women's match between the Hatters and the Dolphins. Additionally, rain forced the postponement of the Stetson women's tennis match against North Florida until 9 a.m. Friday morning.
STETSON MEN'S TENNIS SEASON NOTES:
- Head Coach Pierre Pilote has found two winning combinations in doubles competition: when Echtler is paired with Kricka and Jones with Laalej, Stetson is now 11-0 on the season in those matches.
- Hatters that play at the 2, 3 and 4 singles positions have recorded an outstanding 25-8 record this season, getting Stetson on average within one point of victory in every match.
- Through three A-Sun matches, Stetson's overall record is 15-3 in singles and 8-1 in doubles.
- No matter who Coach Pilote throws in at the #3 doubles slot, Hatter opponents have been powerless to stop them as Stetson is 11-0 on the season there in six different combinations.
