Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Men's Tennis Falls to Ranked Iowa
3/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 17, 2011
Orlando, Fla. - Senior Ervin Garibovic picked up a straight-set victory at No. 2 singles to highlight the Florida Atlantic University men's tennis team's hard-fought 6-1 loss to nationally ranked University of Iowa on Thursday afternoon in Orlando.
The Owls' record is now 7-6 for the season and they'll get another chance to knock off a ranked opponent when Clemson University comes to Boca Raton on Friday, March 18, beginning at 1 p.m.
Garibovic earned a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Nikita Zotov for the team's only point against the Hawkeyes. However, three other matches went three sets and the doubles point was decided on a tiebreaker when Iowa's tandem of Garret Dunn and Zotov defeated FAU's Derek Madon and Oliver Webb in the No. 3 match.
Senior Marc Abdelnour lost a three-set decision atop the singles lineup. The Aleppo, Syria native won the opening set 6-2 before dropping the second set 6-4 to set up a deciding third set. The third frame went into a tiebreaker, when Iowa's Marc Bruche edged out Abdelnour for the victory.
Freshman Marc Wakim also fell in three sets at No. 5 singles, losing the second set by a tiebreaker. He teamed with fellow freshman Omar El Kheshen for an 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles over the Hawkeyes' Austen Kauss and Jonas Dierckx.
Madon also lost a hard-fought match at No. 6 singles, winning a second set tiebreaker to force a third set. He lost the deciding set by a 7-5 score.
Friday's match with Clemson will be play at Patch Reef Park, located at 1200 Yamato Road in Boca Raton.
No. 74 Iowa 6, Florida Atlantic 1
Singles
No. 1 Marc Bruche (IOWA) def. Marc Abdelnour (FAU) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6
No. 2 Ervin Garibovic (FAU) def. Nikita Zotov (IOWA) 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 Will Vasos (IOWA) def. Daniel Vardag (FAU) 7-6, 6-4
No. 4 Austen Kauss (IOWA) def. Oliver Webb (FAU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Jonas Dierckx (IOWA) def. Marc Wakim (FAU) 3-6, 7-6, 6-0
No. 6 Tom Mroziewicz (IOWA) def. Derek Madon (FAU) 6-2, 6-7, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 Brucke/Vasos (IOWA) def. Abdelnour/Garibovic (FAU) 8-4
No. 2 Omar El Kheshen/Wakim (FAU) def. Kauss/Dierckx (IOWA) 8-4
No. 3 Garret Dunn/Zotov (IOWA) def. Madon/Webb (FAU) 9-8
