ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The No.5 Saint Leo men's tennis team defeated the Eckerd Tritons, 6-1, in the Lions' Sunshine State Conference season opener on Monday.
 
Saint Leo (2-0, 1-0 SSC) took the doubles point, clinching second and third doubles. Eckerd (0-1, 0-1 SSC) earned a point in a long three-set six singles decision. Second singles Nicolas Bacella also fought a three-set battle, finding success against his second singles opponent, Pierre Lassalle.  
 
Results
Doubles

• Prakrut Patel and Pierre Lassalle def. Aurel Ciocanu and Willem Van Den Akker (6-4)
• Alexander Parker and Leo Vega def. Will Stone and Matt Spasic (6-0)
• Nicolas Bacella and Ghali Mensour def. Sam Walker and Alex Webb (6-1)

Singles

• Parker def. Spasie (6-4)
• Bacella def. Lassalle (7-6, 3-6, 6-2)
• No. 21 Ciocanu def. Patel (6-4, 6-4)
• No. 45 Mensour def. Stone (6-4, 6-1)
• Trustful def. Walker (6-1, 6-2)
• Webb def. Athanasios Bilis (6-2, 5-7, 10-7)

 
Up Next
The Green and Gold will travel to Oklahoma City, Okla. to answer the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Indoor Championship invitation, which is set to begin on Friday, Feb. 28 and go through Sunday, March 1. The No. 6 Saint Leo Lions will face the No. 2 Columbus State Cougars in the championship's opening day.
 
For more information on the Saint Leo tennis programs, visit SaintLeoLions.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.