DeLand, Fla. ? The 73rd-ranked Stetson men's tennis team (14-4, 5-0 Atlantic Sun) stayed perfect in conference play with a 7-0 shutout of visiting Lipscomb (5-9, 0-6 A-Sun) Saturday at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center. Five Hatters won singles and doubles matches and all six Stetson singles players won in straight sets.
Sophomore Gokay Celik (Istanbul, Turkey) registered the most resounding singles win, thumping Mario Hernandez 6-1, 6-1 in the #6 slot. Senior Filip Kricka (Umag, Croatia) and freshman Njal Stene (Oslo, Norway) only dropped four total games each in their victories; Kricka beat Joe McArdle 6-1, 6-3 in the #1 position while Stene rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Bruno Melibeu at #4 singles.
Stetson won all three doubles matches against the Bisons with freshman Cesare Gallo (Portogruaro, Italy) and junior Mark Mestan (Cologne, Germany) routing McArdle and Andy Mizell 8-1 at the #3 spot in the lineup.
The Hatters travel to Kennesaw State for a 1 p.m. match Friday, March 27, their first of three straight on the road. The match at KSU is the nightcap of a tennis doubleheader between the two schools as the Stetson women face the Lady Owls at 10 a.m.
