Fort Myers, Fla. – The Stetson men's tennis dropped a hard-fought 4-3 match to ASUN rival Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday afternoon at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
 
Stetson opened the match by winning the doubles point with the duo of Clement Hamel and Alexandre Hillhouse outlasting the Eagles' Juan Montes and Gugli Stefanacci at the No. 3 position taking a 7-6 (3-0) victory to clinch the point.
 
In singles play, the match went back-and-forth to the very end. FGCU Alessandro Conca defeated Stetson's Sven Thiergard at No. 4 to even the match, and the Eagles forged in front when Stefanacci downed the Hatters' Josh Laka at No. 6.
 
The Hatters bounced back to tie the match when Diogo Marques defeated Montes at No. 2. The Hatters moved to the brink of a match victory when Fabian Penzkofer defeated Feliks Sakalauska at No. 5.
 
The Eagles were able to tie the match with a win on the No. 1 court, leaving the match of the third court to decide the day. After dropping the first set to Randy Wilson, Hamel battled back to a 6-1 win in the second set to force a third set to decide the match. Wilson was able to control the set, winning 6-2 to clinch a victory for FGCU.
 
"It was a very close match today," Hatters coach Christophe Noblet said. "It came down to the wire and a couple of points here and there. That's what the ASUN is all about, tough and close matches. We will learn from it and prepare for a quick turnaround as we play at UNF next Thursday."
 
Stetson falls to 2-5 overall on the season with the loss to FGCU in the Hatters' ASUN opener. FGCU improved to 4-4 on the year, but a perfect 3-0 in ASUN play.
 
FGCU 4, Stetson 3
03/27/21 at Fort Myers, Fla. (FGCU Tennis Complex)
 
Singles competition
1. Magnus Johnson (FGCU) def. Antoine Sanchez (STET) 6-4, 6-2
2. Diogo Marques (STET) def. Juan Montes (FGCU) 7-6 (3-0), 6-3
3. Randy Wilson (FGCU) def. Clement Hamel (STET) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
4. Alessandro Conca (FGCU) def. Sven Thiergard (STET) 6-4, 6-1
5. Fabian Penzkofer (STET) def. Feliks Sakalauskas (FGCU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Gugli Stefanacci (FGCU) def. Josh Laka (STET) 6-3, 6-2
 
Doubles competition
1. Magnus Johnson / Max Damm (FGCU) def. Diogo Marques / Antoine Sanchez (STET) 6-2
2. Linus Bergevi / Sven Thiergard (STET) def. Pedro Maciel / Feliks Sakalauskas (FGCU) 6-3
3. Clement Hamel / Alexandre Hillhouse (STET) def. Juan Montes / Gugli Stefanacci (FGCU) 7-6 (3-0)
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,6,2,5,1,3)


About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.