Box Score

FORT MYERS, Fla. - In a rare night match for tennis, Kennesaw State's men's tennis team (5-5, 0-1 A-Sun) dropped their conference opener to the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles (3-3, 1-0 A-Sun), 5-2.  The Eagles swept the doubles matches before taking down the Owls in straight sets in three positions to put the match out of reach.  With the loss, the series now stands at 2-2 all-time, with the home team winning all four contests between the two rivals.

"We didn't play a bad match, and we didn't play a great match," lamented Owl Head Coach #T.J. Greggs#. "This evening, the Eagles simply fought just a little bit harder than we did and it paid off for them.  They have a very solid team this year, and we knew this would be a struggle, but I wish we could have done a better job of competing across the board."

In the singles, the Owls were able to pick up two victories and narrowly missed out on a third.  At No. 2 singles, freshman Louis Theodor continued his solid campaign with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over Jackson Moore of the Eagles.  In another solid performance for the Owls, junior Gianni Kubin fought his way through a 6-4, 6-3 win over Lance Lvovsky at the No. 5 spot.  Junior Gokalp Ozdemir was the final Owl to finish for the second straight week, playing a marathon with Eagle senior Matt Rock.  In the end, the FGCU senior and former No. 1 pulled out the victory, 4-6, 6-2, 1-0(10) at the No. 4 spot.

"We had some very good performances, and some we would rather forget, but that's tennis," continued Greggs. "We need to find a way to have everyone 'bring it' at the same time if we want to make a serious run in the conference this season."

The Owls will have little time to dwell on the loss, as they return to action on Saturday against Stetson University.  The Owls and Hatters will face off at 2:00 p.m. at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center.