Jacksonville, Fla. – The Stetson men's tennis teams ran into some bad luck on Thursday in their ASUN match at UNF.
 
The Hatters had a pair of close losses that gave the Ospreys the doubles point and then had the final singles match go against them in three sets as North Florida took a 4-3 decision.

"It was a tough one today," Hatters coach Christophe Noblet said. "It was a close conference match, and we battled to the end. There were just a few points that made the difference. We will learn from this, regroup and be ready to host FGCU on Saturday."
 
Stetson falls to 2-5 overall on the season, including an 0-2 mark in league play. The Ospreys improved to 5-8 overall and evened their ASUN mark at 1-1.
 
The Hatters were on the cusp of taking the doubles point with Clement Hamel and Alexandre Hillhouse entrenched in a battle against Mike Carroll and Nilo Duarte on court three. The Stetson tandem fell just short, dropping their match 7-5 to give UNF the point.
 
Stetson's Diogo Marques and Antoine Sanchez made easy work of their UNF opponents on court one to take a 6-3 victory.
 
Things started slowly for the Hatters in singles play with Sanchez falling on court one in straight sets. Hamel got Stetson on the board on court three, needing a tie-breaker to take the first set 7-6 before racing to a 6-0 victory in the second set.
 
Fabian Penzkofer knotted the match with a straight set win on court five, but needed an 8-6 tie-breaker in the second set to do it. UNF answered with a straight set win on court six before Diogo defeated Duarte on court two in a closely contested three-set match that went to a tie-breaker in the final set.
 
With the match on the line, UNF's Patrick Kotan was able to slip past Sven Thiergard on court four, winning the third set 6-4, to give the Ospreys the win.
 
The Hatters will be back in action on Saturday, hosting FGCU at 3 p.m. Stetson will close out the home schedule next Wednesday when they get another shot at the Ospreys at 3 p.m.
 
North Florida 4, Stetson 3
04/01/21 at Jacksonville, Fla. (UNF Tennis Complex)
 
Singles competition
1. Dominik Barton (UNF) def. Antoine Sanchez (STET) 6-3, 6-2
2. Diogo Marques (STET) def. Nilo Duarte (UNF) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Clement Hamel (STET) def. Matt Carroll (UNF) 7-6 (7-5), 6-0
4. Patrick Kotan (UNF) def. Sven Thiergard (STET) 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
5. Fabian Penzkofer (STET) def. Rodrigo Crespo (UNF) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Jorge Nunez (UNF) def. Joshua Laka (STET) 7-5, 6-4
 
Doubles competition
1. Diogo Marques / Antoine Sanchez (STET) def. Jorge Nunez / Federico Nani (UNF) 6-3
2. Dominik Barton / Rodrigo Crespo (UNF) def. Linus Bergevi / Sven Thiergard (STET) 6-4
3. Matt Carroll / Nilo Duarte (UNF) def. Clement Hamel / Alexandre Hillhouse (STET) 7-5
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,3,5,6,2,4)

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.