Men’s Tennis Advances to C-USA Semis with Shutout Win

Friday, April 19

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

10:00 AM

Florida Atlantic

UAB

4/19/2019 1:52:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

MURFEESBORO, Tenn. – A comeback victory for the doubles point, and three straight singles wins gave the Florida Atlantic University men's tennis team a 4-0 win Friday over UAB and sends the Owls into the semifinal round of the 2019 Conference USA Championship.

Notables:

The No. 2 doubles duo of Mehdi Laalej and Gabriel Sidney were first in with a result, winning 6-3
After UAB (8-13) tied it with a win at No. 3, Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia put the Owls (18-9) on the board with a comeback, tiebreak victory (7-6 (7-1))
Two straight-set singles wins put FAU a point away from clinching, with Alvaro Fernandez Horta taking No. 6 quickly (6-0, 6-2), followed a few minutes later by No. 2 Kirac Bekisoglu (6-4, 6-1)
The shutout win was earned in three sets at No. 4, with senior Gabriel Sidney putting it away even after falling in the first, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

Quotable

Head Coach Ricardo Gonzalez:
"Today was a very tough battle against a very good UAB squad. Happy for our team to get through to the semifinals. Tomorrow will be another tough test so we need to focus on recovery now."

Full Results:
FAU 4, UAB 0
Doubles
1. #76 Jason Legall/Ignacio Garcia (FAU) def. #83 Roman Postolka/Michal Lusovsky (UAB) 7-6 (7-1)
2. Mehdi Laalej/Gabriel Sidney (FAU) def. Giovani Pasini/Tom el Safadi (UAB) 6-3
3. Daniel Janko/Jasper van Kleef (UAB) def. Kirac Bekisoglu/Alvaro Fernandez Horta (FAU) 6-4

Singles
1. Jason Legall (FAU) vs. Roman Postolka (UAB) 2-6, 6-3, 2-4, unfinished
2. Kirac Bekisoglu (FAU) def. Michal Lusovsky (UAB) 6-4, 6-1
3. Mehdi Laalej (FAU) vs. Jasper van Kleef (UAB) 6-2, 3-6, 4-2, unfinished
4. Gabriel Sidney (FAU) def. Daniel Janko (UAB) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Ignacio Garcia (FAU) vs. Tom el Safadi (UAB) 6-2, 2-6, 3-4, unfinished
6. Alvaro Fernandez Horta (FAU) def. Giovani Pasini (UAB) 6-0, 6-2

What's Next

The Owls' opponent in the semifinal round will be determined later Friday. They will face either Charlotte or Rice on Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern. Live stats will be available, again at this link.