Box Score

KENNESAW, Ga. - After opening the Atlantic Sun season with four contests on the road, the KSU men's tennis team went down to the University of North Florida, 7-0, today at the KSU Tennis Center.  The Owls failed to capitalize on several opportunities, and eventually the more powerful Ospreys were able to come away with the victory.

"We didn't play bad tennis today," commented head coach T.J. Greggs.  "However, in order to compete with the teams at the top of the conference, we have to play at our absolute best, and today we played average to above-average tennis."

The Owls (5-10, 0-5 A-Sun) started off strongly in the doubles, gaining a break advantage at No. 1 doubles and staying on serve at No. 2 doubles midway through the match, but were unable to close out any of the matches.  At No. 1 doubles, the Ospreys (13-4, 4-1 A-Sun) and Owls were locked at 4 games apiece before the visitors pulled away for an 8-4 victory.  Shortly thereafter, the No. 3 team of Gokalp Ozdemir and Justin Suesserman were downed by their UNF opponents, 8-3, clinching the doubles point for the Ospreys.  At No. 2, the sophomore pairing of Michael Langel and Simon Janik fought back from a 4-7 deficit to force a tiebreaker, only to fall 8-7(5).  The pairing is now 0-4 in matches decided by a tiebreaker this season.

"Simon and Michael played a great match out there today," added Greggs.  "They could have gone away when they saw the other two matches had been decided, but they fought hard and I am proud of them."

The Owls had several close sets in the singles portion, but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities.  The Ospreys took each singles match in straight sets, with the closest match belonging to freshman Gianni Kubin, who played the longest tiebreaker of the season for the Owls in the first set, before falling, 7-6(10), 6-3.

"Gianni played his heart out today," added Greggs.  "He is maturing every day on court, and he did a great job of continuing to fight throughout his match."

The Owls will return to the KSU Tennis Center on Saturday to take on the Jacksonville Dolphins.  Match time is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. and admission is free to the public.