ORLANDO, Fla. - The Eckerd men's tennis team battled but ultimately fell, 5-2, against Davenport (Mich.) in a neutral site match at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers (8-0) beat the Tritons (1-4, 0-2 SSC) after earning the doubles point and winning four of six singles matchups.
Christian Kearns and Arthur de Souza Fonseca won three games out of the No. 2 doubles draw, as did the No. 3 duo of Eric Asakura and Arik Suez, but both pairs lost 6-3. Pierre-Olivier Lassalle and Prakrut Patel lost in the No. 1 doubles position 6-1.
Lassalle made easy work of the No. 1 singles slot, narrowly edging Davenport's Juan-Louis Antwerpen 6-4 in the first set before cruising to a 6-0 win in the second. Kearns joined Lassalle with a singles win from the No. 5 position, with 6-2 and 6-0 wins.
Patel challenged DU's Quintan van Wijk out of the No. 2 draw, almost taking the first set but ultimately losing 6-4 before falling 6-2 in the finale. Asakura also battled in the No. 4 singles draw, coming up just short against DU's Joel Mast 6-4 and 6-3.
Eckerd returns to the Bullard Courts for a match with the University of Findlay (Ohio) on Thursday at 3:00 PM.
Singles competition
1. Pierre Lassalle (ECM) def. Juan-Louis Antwerpen (DU-MTN) 6-4, 6-0
2. Quintan van Wijk (DU-MTN) def. Prakrut Patel (ECM) 6-4, 6-2
3. Jonathan Bulmer (DU-MTN) def. Arthur Fonseca (ECM) 6-2, 6-0
4. Joel Mast (DU-MTN) def. Eric Asakura (ECM) 6-4, 6-3
5. Christian Kearns (ECM) def. Frank Piana III (DU-MTN) 6-2, 6-0
6. Daniil Khitrou (DU-MTN) def. Arik Suez (ECM) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Juan-Louis Antwerpen/Jonathan Bulmer (DU-MTN) def. Pierre Lassalle/Prakrut Patel (ECM) 6-1
2. Quintan van Wijk/Joel Mast (DU-MTN) def. Christian Kearns/Arthur Fonseca (ECM) 6-3
3. Daniil Khitrou/Maxim Drinchich (DU-MTN) def. Eric Asakura/Arik Suez (ECM) 6-3
