Looking to improve off of a very successful season last year, the Stetson University men's tennis team members polished their skills this fall in preparation for the spring as the Hatters had representation in six events during the fall 2017.
 
Roster members of the 2018 men's tennis team competed at a variety of events including the Southern Intercollegiate, the ITA All American (9/30 – 10/3), ITA Southeast Regional (10/13 – 16, Juan Varon Invitational (10/27 – 29), the ITA Fall Championships (11/1 – 5) and the ITF F36 Futures (1/11 – 13).
 
The players experienced some wins and losses during the fall, but overall it was a highly successful showing as the Hatters continue to strive toward bringing their program to the next level.
 
"It was a very productive fall for us, a lot of matches and a lot of good results for us," head coach Christophe Noblet said. "To my knowledge Stetson has never played in this many tournaments in the fall. Everyone got to play a lot and I think it was a good stepping stone for the spring."
 
While the fall was successful for Stetson, it was exceptionally rewarding for two players, including freshman Linus Bergevi and sophomore Linus Bergevi. The duo qualified for the ITA Fall Championships and competed in doubles competition in the 32-team tournament. They were defeated by a nationally ranked duo from Vanderbilt in three sets in the first round, before losing in the consolation round to a pair of players from Old Dominion. Despite the early round knockout, it marked the first time Stetson tennis had representation in the prestigious tournament, indicating what is to come for the future of Stetson tennis.
 
While having players qualify for the ITA National Championship this fall was exceptional in other ways too. At the Southern Intercollegiate, freshman Malik Bhatnagar won four straight singles matches to compete for the championship. Meanwhile, Angus Bradshaw and Loic Blanco also picked up early round wins in singles play.
 
At the ITA All American, Blanco, won the consolation round after falling to his first round opponent. Then at the ITA Regional, Bergevi and DeCoste blazed their way though to qualify for the national tournament. They went 4-0 in doubles play to qualify for the national championship as an at-large selection.
 
At the Juan Varon Invitational, the duo of junior Coilin MacNamara and freshman Antoine Sanchez won the B doubles championship, while also winning singles matches at the event. Sophomore William Shkrob also competed at the event and won a singles match on the second day.
 
The Hatters closed out the fall by having representation at the ITF F36 Futures in Pensacola with sophomore Bradshaw competing. He earned wins in the first two rounds before losing to a professional (Vasil Kirkov) in the third round.
 
Stetson men's tennis finished 14-6 overall last season and 4-2 in ASUN play.  The Hatters were the No. 2 seed for the ASUN postseason championship and were upset by No. 6 seed Lipscomb in the semifinal round. The 2018 edition of the Hatters will commence their season on Sat. Jan. 20 against Bethune-Cookman at 10 a.m. at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center.