Tritons Rally in Singles but Fall Short Against Florida Southern

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Triton men's tennis team rallied in singles play but came up short against Florida Southern, 6-3, on Monday at the Bullard Courts.

Florida Southern (1-3, 0-1 SSC) swept Eckerd in three tightly-contested doubles matches with the Mocs taking wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions by 8-6 scores along with an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles.

The Tritons (0-3, 0-3 SSC), however, fought back in singles play taking three victories.

"Florida Southern is a very solid team," said EC head coach Ben Maxwell.  "I'm very proud of our effort today.  Today's match showed us we can compete at this level."

Victor Appelqvist out-dueled Fabian Lundberg at No. 1 singles by scores of 6-3 and 6-4.  At No. 2 singles, Eddie Lewis overcame a 6-0 loss in the first set to take the second set, 6-3, and send it to a tiebreaker where he breezed past Jose de Sario, 10-2, to complete his comeback.

Bruno Alves outlasted Matt Matsuyama (7-5, 5-7, 10-7) at No. 6 singles in the longest match of the day, earning his first win of the season.

"I am especially proud of all the guys who won tough singles matches today," Maxwell said.  "Eddie stayed focused and came back after losing the first set.  Victor battled sickness and flu-like symptoms to earn his win.  Bruno had a very long match and to win was huge for him.  We are excited for the rest of the season."

Eckerd competes in its first non-conference match of the season on Thursday, hosting Capital (Ohio) University at 3:00 PM.

DOUBLES
1. Miguel Alvarez-Hevia/Laurent Mailloux (FSCM) def. Victor Appelqvist/Alasdair Knox (ECM) 8-6
2. Fabian Lundberg/Brian Slivonik (FSCM) def. Matt Spasic/Will Stone (ECM) 8-5
3. Jose de Sario/Lennart Vossgatter (FSCM) def. Eddie Lewis/Bruno Alves (ECM) 8-6

SINGLES
1. Victor Appelqvist (ECM) def. Fabian Lundberg (FSCM) 6-3, 6-4
2. Eddie Lewis (ECM) def. Jose de Sario (FSCM) 0-6, 6-3, 10-2
3. Brian Slivonik (FSCM) def. Will Stone (ECM) 6-2, 6-3
4. Laurent Mailloux (FSCM) def. Matt Spasic (ECM) 6-2, 6-2
5. Miguel Alvarez-Hevia (FSCM) def. Alasdair Knox (ECM) 6-3, 6-0
6. Bruno Alves (ECM) def. Matt Matsuyama (FSCM) 7-5, 5-7, 10-7