No. 26 Men’s Tennis Beats Tennessee Tech 6-1

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – No. 26 Florida State men’s tennis (12-6) downed Tennessee Tech (1-8) 6-1 on Saturday at Scott Speicher Memorial Tennis Center. FSU won the doubles point for the third straight match and earned five singles points.

“I thought it was a good day for us, a 6-1 win,” said head coach Dwayne Hultquist. “They had a little adversity in that they only had five healthy players.”

With the Eagles unable to field a full team, the Seminoles only needed to win one court to clinch doubles. Alex Bulte and Youcef Rihane won court two 6-2 to claim the doubles point.

“I thought we were really good at two doubles today, Alex and Youcef, ran away with that set,” added Hultquist. “I liked how active Alex Bulte was at the net putting balls away.”

FSU entered singles play already leading 2-0 due to Tennessee Tech’s depleted roster. The Noles won the first set on all five courts.

“Once we got those first sets, it felt like we were in control of the match,” shared Hultquist. “I would highlight Rich’s effort, down 4-1 and coming back and winning 6-4.”

John Bernard got off to a dominant start on court five and finished quickly in two sets to claim a singles point for the Noles. Rihane finished soon after on court four to clinch the win.

“I felt like it was a good overall day for us, and it gives us a bit of rest before we play on the road at Miami and Boston College,” Hultquist said. “It’s a hard road trip from the southern-most school to the northern-most school in this next week, so it’s important for us to get rested and ready to go.”

Florida State plays Miami on Wednesday at 5 p.m. followed by a match at Boston College on Saturday at 6 p.m.

#26 Florida State University 6, Tennessee Tech University 1

Singles competition

1. #45 Loris Pourroy (FSU) def. Elias Grubert (TTU) 6-4, 6-3
2. Mika Berghaus (TTU) def. Josh Karpenschif (FSU) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)
3. Richard Thongoana (FSU) def. Andre Rodeia (TTU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Youcef Rihane (FSU) def. Carlos Vincente (TTU) 6-3, 6-4
5. John Bernard (FSU) def. Jun Sasagawa (TTU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Alex Bulte (FSU) def. No player (TTU), by forfeit

Doubles competition

1. Loris Pourroy/Josh Karpenschif (FSU) vs. Mika Berghaus/Elias Grubert (TTU) 3-4, unfinished
2. Alex Bulte/Youcef Rihane (FSU) def. Carlos Vincente/Jun Sasagawa (TTU) 6-2
3. John Bernard/Bryn Nahrung (FSU) def. Andre Rodeia/No player (TTU), by forfeit

For more information on the Seminole Men’s Tennis program, check Seminoles.com and follow us on social media at FSUMTennis (IG) and @FSU_MTennis (TW).