MOBILE, Ala. – A day after having the match versus Georgia College rained out, the No. 9 West Florida men’s tennis team (9-7, 3-1 GSC) had to move its match against No. 19 Florida Southern (9-7) to Mobile to avoid the rain in Pensacola on Friday. The Argonauts defeated the Moccasins 5-2 at the indoor courts of the Mobile Civic Center to claim their ninth victory of the 2009 season and fifth over a ranked Division II opponent this season.
The West Florida squad was stronger than the Moccasins in doubles, as the Argonauts got two out of three points. In the first spot, Andrey Pozhidaev (freshman/Sochi, Russia) and Kevin Ducros (freshman/Aix-en-Provence, France) defeated Roman Schirmaier and C. J. Johnson 8-5. In the second spot, Argonauts Patrick Bateman (sophomore/Apopka, Fla.) and Luis Arboleda (senior/Medellin, Colombia) fell 8-6 to Guenther Fercher and Nicolas Bigler in the second spot. Mike Lue (freshman/Richmond Hill, Ontario) and Nathan Rosenfeld (freshman/Miami, Fla.) defeated Ben Taylor and Greg Heartt with an 8-6 score, giving the 2-1 lead to the Argonauts.
Entering the singles action, the Argonauts needed three wins out of six matches in order to be declared the winner. Jose Ycaza (senior/Guayaquil, Ecuador) rallied from a set down to defeat Brian deMontfort 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the sixth spot. The Mocs responded with a win in the fifth spot when Johnson beat Argo Rosenfeld 6-4, 7-6. No. 41 Arboleda did not have much trouble to beat Taylor 6-4, 6-2 in the fourth spot and give the Argonauts the 4-2 lead. No. 48 Bateman blanked Moccasin Bigler in the second set to clinch the match with a 6-3, 6-0 score. Due to a tight schedule, the first and second singles were not played.
With the fifth point, the Argonauts earned the 5-2 win over the Mocs, improving to a 9-7 overall record. West Florida will now face tough competition at the Blue Gray Championships, hosted by Alabama University-Montgomery. The championships will be held in Montgomery from April 2-4. For more information on all UWF Athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.