The Stetson men's tennis team (14-2, 5-1) defeated USC Upstate (6-10, 0-4) by a score of 6-1 at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Hatters began by sweeping the doubles matches to earn the first point of the game. Freshman Laurynas Antropikas and junior Hans Adrian Riseng opened things up by quickly winning 8-1 at number one doubles.
Senior Didrik Berg and freshman Simon Julin followed suit with an 8-6 victory at number two doubles to clinch the point for Stetson. Freshman Cahit Kapukiran and sophomore Nathan Debut completed the doubles sweep for the Hatters, winning 8-7 (3) at the number three position.
The Spartans tied things up early into singles play when Matthias Kidler – ranked 111th in the nation – defeated Berg 6-0, 6-1 at the number one position to make it 1-1 overall. Over half an hour later, Debut won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, at number six singles to give Stetson the lead once again, at 2-1.
Julin extended the Hatter lead to 3-1 when he won 6-0, 6-4 at the number two position, improving to 14-1 in singles play on the season. Sophomore Chester Espie then clinched the match for Stetson, winning 6-1, 6-0 at number five singles to earn the Hatters' fourth point of contest.
Kapukiran improved to 5-1 in Atlantic Sun Conference singles play with a 6-4, 6-4 win at the number four position, and Antropikas came back from losing his first set to win 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (9) at number three singles, making the final score 6-1 in favor of the Hatters.
"The team played much better today from the outset of the match," Stetson Director Pierre Pilote said. "Our doubles standard was excellent today. We will strive to continue improving between now and our next match."
Stetson will next hit the road to take on No. 68 North Florida on Saturday, April 6. The Hatters and the Ospreys are scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. in Jacksonville.
