PENSACOLA, Fla. – In a clash against NCAA DI and DII powerhouses, the No. 9 West Florida men's tennis team (5-7, 2-1 GSC) dropped one more match on Thursday, March 19 at the Ralph “Skeeter” Carson Complex in Pensacola. Division I No. 5 Mississippi (13-2) blanked West Florida 4-0, delivering Argonauts their seventh loss of the season. The Rebels were too strong for the Argonauts, as they did not drop a single point.
The match was played under Division I rules, a seven point format in which the team that reaches four points is declared the winner. In these rules, only one point is earned by the three doubles matches, instead of the three points from the Division II rules.
The Rebels started strong in doubles, as they quickly pulled two doubles wins to earn the point from the doubles action. The first win occurred at the third spot when Rebels Kalle Norberg and Otto Sauer defeated Argos Nathan Rosenfeld (freshman/Miami, Fla.) and Mike Lue (freshman/Richmond Hills, Ontario) 8-2. Rebels Devin Britton and Tucker Vorster dropped seniors Luis Arboleda (senior/Medellin, Colombia) and Jose Ycaza (senior/Guayaquil, Ecuador) 8-3 to earn the one point lead entering the singles action. The other doubles match was not finished, as the Rebels already had the doubles point.
In the singles action the Division I squad was also stronger than the Argonauts, as three singles wins were quickly reached from the Rebels. Vorster, playing No. 6 for Ole Miss, dropped one game in his 6-0, 6-1 win over Leandro Schujmann (sophomore/Porto Alegre, Brazil). Sean Gunnels (freshman/Mobile, Ala.) won three games in his 6-0, 6-3 loss to the Rebels’ fifth player Marcel Thiemann. Division II No. 41 Arboleda fell 6-2, 6-2 to Division I No. 79 Britton in the third singles spot, giving Ole Miss the fourth point to secure the team win over West Florida. The other matches on court were also not finished as the Rebels already had the team victory.
With the win West Florida dropped to a 5-7 overall record, while the Mississippi improved to a 13-2 record. West Florida will now face GSC rival No. 27 North Alabama on Sunday March 22 at 10:00 am. For information on all UWF Athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
