A 6-1 Paradise Win for the Owls

Friday, January 23

Boca Raton, Fla.

1 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

Stetson

1/23/2026 8:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic men's tennis returned home to play host to in-state foe Stetson and returned to the win column with a 6-1 Friday afternoon victory.

With the win, the Owls move to 2-2 on the year while Stetson falls to 2-1. FAU improves the all-time series over the Hatters to 19-8 and avenges a 4-3 loss from two seasons ago.

QUOTABLE
"I'm very pleased with our performance today," said Ricardo Gonzalez, FAU's director of tennis. "Our players are improving every day. They are coachable, motivated, and dedicated to getting better. This team is extremely talented, with 10 players capable of performing at a high level. We'll continue to take it one step at a time, match by match, focusing on what we can control."

THE BEGINNING
The Owls continued their strong play on the doubles courts by winning courts #2 and #3. The court #2 duo of Segundo Goity Zapico and Simon Myslivec were the first to capture their court with a 6-2 victory. Teammates Vanja Hodzic and Lucca Pignaton quickly followed with a 6-3 court #3 score. Court #1 was chasing the win when the point was clinched and did not complete the match.

THE MIDDLE
Holding the 1-0 lead, the two teams moved into singles play. Newcomer veteran Hodzic made quick work of court #6 with a 6-1, 6-0 victory to push the team score to 2-0 in favor of his Owls. Mark Havlicek, playing on the top court, put the Owls within one point of clinching the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win. Stetson earned its first and only point with a win on court #3.

THE END
Sophomore Marek Pazdera clinched the match for FAU with a 6-2, 7-5 court #5 win, and the final two courts were captured by Myslivec and Goity Segundo, respectively.

THE RESULTS
Doubles
1. Mark Havlicek / Marek Pazdera (FAU) vs. Kartik Mandla / Alexandre Verlaguet (STU) 3-4
2. Segundo Goity Zapico / Simon Myslivec (FAU) def. Xavier Sarda Marti / James Lorenzetti (STU) 6-2
2. Vanja Hodzic / Lucca Pignaton (FAU) def. Christian Kuehne / Mat Stanisavlijevic (STU) 6-3

Order of Finish: 2, 3

Singles
1. Mark Havlicek (FAU) def. Alexandre Verlaguet (STU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Segundo Goity Zapico (FAU) def. Christian Kuehne (STU) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Xavier Sarda Marti (STU) def. Lucca Pignaton (FAU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Simon Myslivec (FAU) def. Mat Stanisavlijevic (STU)6-2, 1-6, 6-3
5. Marek Pazdera (FAU) def. James Lorenzetti (STU) 6-2, 7-5
6. Vanja Hodzic (FAU) def. Mihnea Maftei (STU) 6-1, 6-0

Order of Finish: 6, 1, 3, 5, 4, 2

UPCOMING MATCHES
The Owls will next travel to Mobile, Alabama for a 2 p.m. ET match at South Alabama, on Thursday, Jan. 29.

THE SCHEDULE
For a complete schedule click HERE.

FOLLOW ALONG
To follow the Owls socially, visit @faumtennis, or for the most up-to-date information, go to www.fausports.com.