FAU Falls in the Battle of Owls, 4-0

Friday, March 13

Boca Raton, Fla.

2 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

Rice

3/13/2026 10:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic men's tennis team playing four ranked opponents in its next five matches, fell to No. 70 Rice, a fellow American Conference member in a non-conference contest, by a 4-0 score on Friday night.

The Rice match was delayed from its previously rescheduled match time of 2 p.m. for more than four hours due to weather. The two teams showed no effects getting underway with the magnitude of a match evident between two perennial conference contenders. With the loss FAU falls to 6-6 on the year while the Rice Owls improve to 7-6.

THE BEGINNING
Playing a clinch/clinch format did not shorten doubles play with the two teams needing every court to determine the winner. Rice prevailed on courts #1 and #3 to secure the match's first point.

THE MIDDLE
The Rice Owls picked up victories on courts #4 and #6 to build a 3-0 lead.

THE FINISH
While tight battles waged on the top three courts for the final point, Jan Kusy split sets on court #5 and was up 3-0 when FAU dropped court #1 for the match's 4-0 final.

THE RESULT
Florida Atlantic (6-6) 0 vs Rice (7-6) 4
03/13/2026 at Boca Raton, Fla. -- Kimberly V. Strauss

Doubles
1 Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro (RICE) def. Mark Havlicek and Marek Pazdera (FAU)
6-3
2 Segundo Goity Zapico and Simon Myslivec (FAU) def. Kaeer Kapasi and Yair Sarouk (RICE)
6-2
3 Rafael Botran and Tommy Czaplinski (RICE) def. Luca Miremont and Lucca Pignaton (FAU)
6-0

Singles
1 Petro Kuzmenok (RICE) def. Segundo Goity Zapico (FAU) 7-5 6-0
2 Mark Havlicek (FAU) vs. Santiago Navarro (RICE) 6-7 (5-7), 4-3 UF
3 Marek Pazdera (FAU) vs. Rafael Botran (RICE) 7-6(12-10), 3-2 UF
4 Kabeer Kapasi (RICE) def. Simon Myslivec (FAU) 6-2 6-4
5 Jan Kusy (FAU) vs. Tommy Czaplinski (RICE) 1-6, 6-4, 3-0 UF
6 Gabriel Porras (RICE) def. Bullion Sharp (FAU) 6-2, 6-4

Order of finish: Singles – 4, 6, 1; Doubles – 3, 2, 1
Start Time: 6:30 PM | Duration: 2:30

UP NEXT
The Owls will remain at home, hosting four matches next week. The Owls will first host No. 75 Old Dominion on Tuesday, Mar. 17 at 11 a.m. and will then play No. 68 East Tennessee on Wednesday, Mar. 18. With one day's rest, FAU will return to the courts for an 11 a.m. match versus fellow American Conference member and in-state foe South Florida in a non-conference contest. The week will conclude with No. 54 Memphis, also a member of the American, on Sunday, Mar. 22 with first serve scheduled for noon. All matches played at the Kimberly V. Strauss Tennis Center are free and open to the public. Matches may also be followed via live stats at Fausports.com.

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.