No. 14 Rollins Defeats Eckerd, 8-1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The doubles tandem of Will Stone and Matt Spasic earned their first victory of the new season, but the Triton men's tennis team came up short against No. 14 Rollins College, 8-1, at the Bullard Courts.

Stone and Spasic outlasted the Tars' Daniel Ferl and Sami Kirberg, 8-4, in the No. 2 doubles position.  Robert Vazquez and Alejandro Vuconovic battled in the No. 3 spot, looking to earn another point for Eckerd, giving Atakan Gezer and Ziad Melhaoui a tough test before losing, 8-4.

Rollins took a 2-1 lead into singles play, where the Tars won all six contests to complete the match victory.

Playing at No. 2 singles, Stone battled with Guillermo Nicolas, the 19th-ranked player in Division II. Nicolas held off a strong effort by Stone for a 6-3, 6-2 win.

Spasic, in the No. 3 spot, took the first set from Melhaoui, 6-4.  Melhauoi bounced back to take the second set, 6-0, then won the tiebreaker, 10-5.

Alasdair Knox also put together a solid performance at No. 1 singles before falling to Nicolo De Fraia, 6-3 and 6-2.

"The men really played well today," said EC head coach Ben Maxwell.  "Rollins is always tough.  We fought hard and I am very happy with Matt and Will's doubles performance.  They have been playing great."

Eckerd (0-2, 0-2 SSC) travels for the first time in the spring on Friday paying a visit to Florida Tech.

DOUBLES
1. Nicolo De Fraia/Guillermo Nicolas (RCM) def. Alasdair Knox/Connor Masella (ECM) 8-1
2. Matt Spasic/Will Stone (ECM) def. Daniel Ferl/Sami Kirberg (RCM) 8-4
3. Atakan Gezer/Ziad Melhaoui (RCM) def. Robert Vazquez/Alejandro Vuconovic (ECM) 8-4

SINGLES
1. Nicolo De Fraia (RCM) def. Alasdair Knox (ECM) 6-2, 6-3
2. #19 Guillermo Nicolas (RCM) def. Will Stone (ECM) 6-3, 6-2
3. Ziad Melhaoui (RCM) def. Matt Spasic (ECM) 4-6, 6-0, 10-5
4. Atakan Gezer (RCM) def. Robert Vazquez (ECM) 6-1, 6-1
5. Salvadore Bolanos (RCM) def. Connor Masella (ECM) 6-0, 6-0
6. Frederick Danielson (RCM) def. Charlton Ogg (ECM) 6-0, 6-0