BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic men's tennis used a little birthday magic and patience on the long rallies to mount a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over No. 35 Pennsylvania on Friday.
UPenn, 14-4 overall, led the match 3-2 with courts four and five in progress and the Quakers in charge on those courts. A raucous crowd of fans, family, and teammates lined the courts to support their teams.
FAU's
Jan Kusy had dropped his first set 7-5, won the second set 6-3, and was just beginning the third and final set. The freshman from Prague, Czech Republic, continued to rally, winning his match on his birthday to even the team match score at 3-3, with fellow freshman
Segundo Goity Zapico battling on court four.
Everyone moved to court four, where Goity Zapico's match was a few games behind Kusy's. Goity Zapico had similarly dropped the first set 6-4, won the second set by a 6-4 score, and was up 5-4 when the crowd shifted. Nearly every point was won after a long rally, with UPenn forcing an extra game and ultimately a tiebreaker, which Goity Segundo won 7-6 (7-5) to give the Owls the win after nearly 3:30 hours of play.
Ricardo Gonzalez, FAU's Director of Tennis
"This group was tough and gritty today. Our boys never gave up and were tough and calm when it mattered. Our boys are getting better and gaining confidence. Tomorrow will be another strong battle with VCU, so we need to be ready to keep fighting."
No. 35 Penn (14-4) at Florida Atlantic (4-7)
Date: 03/14/2025
Time: 10:00 AM
Facility: Kimberly V. Strauss Tennis Center
Site: Boca Raton, Fla.
Doubles
#1 Jenicek, Jiri / Myslivec, Simon [FAU] / Parashar Bharadwaj / Tal Goodman [PENN] 3-4 UF
#2 Havlicek, Mark / Pazdera, Marek [FAU] def. Shaurya Bharadwaj / Manfredi Graziani [PENN] 6-3
#3 Bernard, John / Pignaton, Lucca [FAU] def. Sanjeev Chundu / Baylor Sai [PENN] 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2
Singles
#1 Manfredi Graziani [PENN] def. No. 106 Bernard, John [FAU] 6-3, 6-4
#2 Havlicek, Mark [FAU] def. Tal Goodman [PENN] 6-0, 6-4
#3 Sanjeev Chundu [PENN] def. Jenicek, Jiri [FAU] 6-3, 6-0
#4 Goity Zapico, Segundo [FAU] def. Shaurya Bharadwaj [PENN] 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
#5 Kusy, Jan [FAU] def. Justin Chung [PENN] 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
#6 Matthew Rutter [PENN] def. Myslivec, Simon [FAU] 6-3, 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 6, 5, 4
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