The FAU Owls home opener took place today against the FAMU Rattlers. First serve was 2pm under partly sunny skies, 77degrees, and some mild wind gusts. The Owls began the doubles where they left off last season. The number 2 veteran duo of Vardag and Scholl clinched the first match 8-2 to give FAU the momentum. The Owls clinched the doubles point shortly after when Abdelnour and Garibovic served out the match 8-5. The Rattlers, characteristically, would not relinquish match momentum without a fight. They forced a tie break at the 3 doubles position and would win the match 7-5 in the tiebreak. FAU headed into the break with a 1-0 lead.
“We must improve our ability to sustain the momentum of a team match once we capture it. The positive from this situation is that the boys came out and won the first set on 5 of the 6 singles court. We know the Rattlers are battlers and it was imperative we started with a strong statement.”
The Owls did just that. Dan Vardag answered the call from his coaches to be the first to capture the singles momentum for the team. He won 6-0, 6-1 at the number 3 position. Following closely behind was freshman Georg Matschke with a 6-3, 6-1 win at 5 singles. The Owls would continue the momentum train as Lawrence Harradine clinched the first victory of the season for FAU with a 6-0, 6-3, victory at number 2 singles. More points were to follow on this home opener day.
Marc Abdelnour earned the 5th team point with a 6-3, 6-3 win at 1 singles. Freshman Matt Braunworth provided the last exclamation point with a 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 victory. FAMU would register their only team point with a solid performance at 4 singles winning 6-4, 6-4.
“It’s essential for everyone—freshies, veterans, and coaches—to get back in the dual match season. This is why we are here—to compete for one another and FAU. Nothing compares to the brotherhood of a team that is formed by the fire of perseverance, the sweat of love, and lots of laughter. This is just the beginning of our spring season…we have a long way to go until our ultimate identity manifests but we are on the right path. We improved in many areas from yesterday which is encouraging. We have other areas to address as well before our next match next but we will do so with passion, focus, and good ol’ sweat.”
“Thank you to our fans for your good vocal support. You got us rolling in our 2010 home opener. We will see you at our next match—which is just down the interstate and in primetime!”
This was the first of 14 home matches for the Owls this season. The next home match will be in February so keep following closely as we go on the road to battle the University of Miami next Thursday, January, 21 at 6pm.
