Kennesaw, Ga. – The Stetson men's tennis team seems to be finding its stride at the right time, closing the regular season on Sunday with a 4-2 victory at Kennesaw State.
 
"It was a good win on the road, and it is always tough to win on the road in the ASUN," Hatters coach Christophe Noblet said. "It was another close match. I'm really happy for Fabian for pulling out a close match. The way he played was fantastic and that will help him tremendously moving forward."
 
Junior Fabian Penzkofer had the match of the day on court five against Kennesaw State's Gaston Muhammad. After dropping the first set 7-6, with a 7-3 tie-breaker, he came back to win the second set 7-6, this time taking a 7-3 tie-breaker. Penkofer proved to be too strong in the final set, winning 6-0 to take the win and clinch the match for the Hatters.
 
Stetson got off to a good start in the match by winning the doubles point. Diogo Marques and Antoine Sanchez coasted to a 6-0 victory on court one. After KSU took the match on court three, Stetson Linus Bergevi and Sven Thiergard clinched the point with a 7-5 victory on court two.
 
KSU quickly knotted the match with a win on court two in singles play before Marques put Stetson on top with a straight set (6-4, 6-4) victory on court one. Alexandre Hillhouse also won in straight sets (6-2, 7-5) on court four to give Stetson a 3-1 lead, but the Owls' Sergio Ingles took a three-set victory over Clement Hamel on court three to keep the pressure on.
 
Penzkofer sealed the overall match win with his victory. The action on court six, between Thiergard and KSU's Harvey Conway, was left unfinished after the match was decided. That match was in a third set, with Thiergard leading, when it was called.
 
The Hatters improved to 4-7 overall with the win and now sit at 2-3 in ASUN play, earning the No. 2 seed from the south division. The Owls are 6-10 on the year and are also 2-3 in league competition and are the No. 3 team from the south. The teams will meet again this Saturday, April 17, in DeLand in the opening round of the ASUN Tournament.
 
"We are excited about going into the tournament because this is what we practice all year for," Noblet said. "We have put it all on line the last few weeks and we are going to be ready to play."

Stetson 4, Kennesaw State 2
04/11/21 at Kennesaw, Ga. (Betty Siegel Courts)
 
Singles competition
1. Diogo Marques (STET) def. Sebastian Osorio (KSU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Raul Garcia (KSU) def. Antoine Sanchez (STET) 6-3, 6-2
3. Sergio Ingles (KSU) def. Clement Hamel (STET) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
4. Alexandre Hillhouse (STET) def. Kevin Patel (KSU) 6-2, 7-5
5. Fabian Penzkofer (STET) def. Gaston Muhammad (KSU) 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-0
6. Harvey Conway (KSU) vs. Sven Thiergard (STET) 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 3-5, unfinished
 
Doubles competition
1. Diogo Marques / Antoine Sanchez (STET) vs. Sergio Ingles / Seru Tezuka (KSU) 6-0
2. Linus Bergevi / Sven Thiergard (STET) def. Harvey Conway / Raul Garcia (KSU) 7-5
3. Sebastian Osorio / Kevin Patel (KSU) def. Clement Hamel / Alexandre Hillhouse (STET) 6-2
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,1,4,3,5)

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.