Just one week after dropping a hard-fought match against UNF in Jacksonville, the Stetson men's tennis team sent seniors Linus Bergevi and Antoine Sanchez out with a 4-3 victory over the Ospreys on Wednesday at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center.
 
The victory was the first for Stetson in ASUN play this spring. The Hatters (3-7, 1-3) will close out the regular season on Saturday at Kennesaw State before opening play in the ASUN Championship the following week.
 
The Ospreys fall to 6-10 on the year with the loss, 2-3 in ASUN competition.
  "This was awesome," Sanchez said. "This was my first win against UNF since I have been a Hatter. It was an amazing experience and couldn't have ended any better than this. The last couple of matches have been tough for us, so it was nice to finally get the win. It was a pretty emotional day."
 
After senior day presentations were made, the Hatters got off to a slow start, dropping the doubles point with Bergevi and his partner, Sven Thiergard pushing play on the No. 2 court to the very end before falling 7-5.
 
Singles play didn't go much better early as Stetson's Fabian Penzkofer fell on the No. 5 court in straight sets.
 
Stetson's No. 1 player, Diogo Marques, got the Hatters on the board with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over UNF No. 1 Dominik Barton.
 
UNF closed to within one point of a match win when Jorge Nunez bested Stetson's Tim Gennes at No. 6 in three sets.
 
The Hatters rallied after that loss with Clement Hamel at No. 3, Alexandre Hillhouse at No. 4 and Sanchez at No. 2 all earning three set wins. Sanchez clinched the match, coming back after losing his opening set to Nilo Duarte 6-0, winning the last two sets 7-5 and 7-6 to give the Hatters the victory.
 
"The last couple of months have been like hitting against a brick wall," Bergevi said. "It has been really tough. To win on senior day, at home in front of our fans, I got teary-eyed – just very happy."

 
Stetson 4, North Florida 3
04/07/21 at DeLand, Fla. (Mandy Stoll Tennis Center)
 
Singles competition
1. Diogo Marques (STET) def. Dominik Barton (UNF) 7-6, 6-2
2. Antoine Sanchez (STET) def. Nilo Duarte (UNF) 0-6, 7-5, 7-6
3. Clement Hamel (STET) def. Matt Carroll (UNF) 4-6, 6-7, 7-5
4. Alexandre Hillhouse (STET) def. Patrick Kotan (UNF) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
5. Rodrigo Crespo (UNF) def. Fabian Penzkofer (UNF) 6-2, 6-1
6. Jorge Nunez (UNF) def. Tim Gennes (STET) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. Diogo Marques / Antoine Sanchez (STET) vs. Jorge Nunez / Federico Nani (UNF) 5-6, unfinished
2. Dominik Barton / Rodrigo Crespo (UNF) def. Linus Bergevi / Sven Thiergard (STET) 7-5
3. Matt Carroll / Nilo Duarte (UNF) def. Clement Hamel / Alexandre Hillhouse (STET) 6-3
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,1,6,3,4,2)


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.