The Stetson men's tennis team had momentum and home court advantage on its side on Saturday when the Hatters hosted Kennesaw State in an ASUN Tournament Quarterfinal match at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center.
 
Those advantages weren't quite enough to overcome the visiting Owls, who took a 4-3 decision in a marathon match that was delayed twice by rain. Originally scheduled for a noon start, the match didn't get under way until 2 p.m. Just after singles play began, the match was halted as a rain shower moved through. The match didn't end until after 6 p.m.
 
Junior Fabian Penzkofer battled tooth and nail with KSU's Harvey Conway on the No. 5 singles court with the match, and the season, for both teams hanging in the balance. Penzkofer battled back in the third set from a 5-3 deficit, forcing the match to a deciding 13^th game before falling.
 
Unlike the match at Kennesaw State last weekend, the Hatters got off to a slow start, dropping the doubles point. Penzkofer and Sven Thiergard were overwhelmed 6-0 on court No. 3, but the Hatters' No. 1 duo of Diogo Marques and Antoine Sanchez took a 6-4 win to put the fate of the point on court No. 2.
 
Linus Bergevi and Alexandre Hillhouse fell behind 5-2 in their match, but battled back to within 5-4 before falling 6-4, giving the Owls the all-important doubles point.
 
KSU pushed its lead to 2-0 with a straight-set win on court No. 2 in singles play, but Marques got the Hatters on the board with a straight set win of his own (6-3, 6-2) on court No. 1. Stetson tied the match when Thiergard polished off his opponent in straight sets (6-1, 6-3) on court No. 6.
 
The Owls moved to within a point of the match by winning on court No. 3 before Hillhouse took a three-set win on court No. 4 to even the match, but Penzkofer was unable to put away Harvey Conway on court No. 5, allowing KSU to advance in the tournament.
 
Stetson finished its season with a 4-8 record. KSU improved to 7-11 and moves on to play in the ASUN semifinals next weekend.

Kennesaw State 4, Stetson 3
04/17/21 at DeLand, Fla. (Mandy Stoll Tennis Center)
 
Singles competition
1. Diogo Marques (STET) def. Raul Garcia (KSU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Sebastian Osorio (KSU) def. Antoine Sanchez (STET) 6-0, 6-3
3. Sergio Ingles (KSU) def. Clement Hamel (STET) 6-3, 6-4
4. Alexandre Hillhouse (STET) def. Kevin Patel (KSU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
5. Harvey Conway (KSU) def. Fabian Penzkofer (STET) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6
6. Sven Thiergard (STET) def. Seru Tezuka (KSU) 6-1, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. Diogo Marques / Antoine Sanchez (STET) def. Sergio Ingles / Harvey Conway (KSU) 6-4
2. Gaston Muhammad / Raul Garcia (KSU) def. Linus Bergevi / Alexandre Hillhouse (STET) 6-4
3. Kevin Patel / Sebastian Osorio (KSU) def. Sven Thiergard / Fabian Penzkofer (STET) 6-0
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,1,6,3,4,5)

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.