SAINT LEO, Fla. – After outlasting No. 5 seed Rollins, the No. 2 seed Saint Leo men's tennis team registered a 4-2 victory in the NCAA Division II South Region 2 Finals and punched its ticket to the NCAA Championship Tournament for the first time since 2016 when the Lions finished national runners-up.
Saint Leo claimed the doubles' point as the 28th-ranked duo of
Luis Iriarte and
Martin Soukal edged the 26th-ranked duo of Rollins with a 7-6 (7-4) win in first doubles followed by
Nicolas Bacella and
Ghali Mensour collecting a 6-2 victory at second doubles.
The singles competition featured a back-and-forth battle across the board. In first singles, Soukal dropped the opening set 6-4 before winning the second by a 6-4 margin and capping off the comeback with a 6-1 win in the third set. In fourth singles, Mensour fell behind with a 6-3 loss in the first set, however, he started to build momentum with a 7-6 (7-2) win in the next set followed by completing another come-from-behind win in the third set by a 6-2 margin. During fifth singles,
Dylan Andrianaly lost the opening set 6-2 and posted a 7-5 victory in the second set and then secured the Saint Leo win in the third set with a 6-1 victory.
(2) #1 Saint Leo 4, (3) #5 Rollins 2
DOUBLES
1. #28
Luis Iriarte/
Martin Soukal (SLU) def. #26 Luke Quaynor/Richard Stoiberer (RCM) 7-6 (7-4)
2.
Nicolas Bacella/
Ghali Mensour (SLU) def. Guillermo Castaneda/Charlie Putrino (RCM) 6-2
3.
Eduardo Cohen/
Vincent Thiel (SLU) vs. Efe Comu/Nico de Giacomo (RCM) 5-5, UF
SINGLES
1. #2
Martin Soukal (SLU) def. #28 Efe Comu (RCM) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. Luke Quaynor (RCM) def. #8
Vincent Thiel (SLU) 6-1, 6-4
3.
Nicolas Bacella (SLU) vs. Nico de Giacomo (RCM) 4-6, 6-3, 2-4, UF
4.
Ghali Mensour (SLU) def. Richard Stoiberer (RCM) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
5.
Dylan Andrianaly (SLU) def. Guillermo Castaneda (RCM) 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
6. Charlie Putrino (RCM) def.
Luis Iriarte (SLU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-4
The Lions will return to action on Tuesday, May 21 as they are set to compete in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship Tournament at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida. The NCAA will announce the seeding of the 16 teams that advanced to the tournament prior to the opening round.
