Score: No. 2 Keiser 6, Flagler 1
Records: Keiser (8-2), Flagler (3-1)
Location:Â St. Augustine, Fla.
Venue:Â Flagler Tennis Center
The No. 2 Keiser men's tennis team defeated the Division II No. 18 ranked Flagler Saints on Wednesday, 6-1.
- Flagler tied the match at 1-1 with a win over Fred Oervad on court two, 6-3, 6-4.
- Kilani brought the Seahawks back in front with a 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 win on court three.
- Simkiss brought the match to 3-1 in favor of KU with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win on court one
- The match was clinched on court six as Bart Nouws won 6-4, 7-5.
- Both Zick and El Mesbahi battled back in three-set battles to take the match for Keiser, 6-1.
"That was a dogfight today," said Head Coach,Â
Daniel Finn, "We came very close to losing the match today. We just barely did enough to win the doubles point, but we did get it. After pulling Gero (
Geronimo Barrios) from singles, we found ourselves down a set on courts 5 of the 6 singles and in a fight. However, from that point through the rest of the match, I'm really proud of the guys and the way they responded to the adversity and the situation they were in. Flagler has a huge home-court advantage and creates an atmosphere that is extremely hard to play in. Our boys responded well today, showed who they are, and fought back for this one. We dug our own holes and created our mess, but scrapped and clawed out of there. The hard part now is we need to get to the hotel and do our best to recover for another big-time opponent tomorrow."
In recognition of his assistants, coach Finn had this to say, "My assistants,
Megane Bianco and
Olivier Koeng, deserve a lot of credit each and every day, but deserve extra for their work today. They really grinded from court to court and helped the boys today. It's a tall task to flip five matches and they deserve a lot of credit for helping guide the boys to getting it done."
The Seahawks will travel up to Valdosta, Georgia to face D-II No. 2 Valdosta State on February 24.
