The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Florida Gulf Coast
Blazers Open Road Trip With 4-3 Win Over FGCU
3/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 22, 2014
FORT MYERS, Fla. ---- UAB's men's tennis team opened its three-match trip to Florida Saturday as the Blazers withstood a rally by Florida Gulf Coast to post a 4-3 victory at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
The Blazers (7-6) took a 3-0 lead on the Eagles by winning the doubles point and then notching wins at No. 2 and 3 singles, but Florida Gulf Coast came back with narrow victories at No. 1 and 4 to trim the margin to 3-2.
UAB's Stepan Vancurik sealed the win for the Blazers with a three-set clincher at No. 5 singles, downing Lance Lvovsky, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
UAB grabbed a 1-0 lead with doubles wins at No. 2 and 3. It was the 10th time in 13 matches this season that the Blazers have won the doubles point.
Donovan McSeveney and Lucas Dirube defeated the FGCU duo of Tianyu Bao and Lance Lvovsky, 8-4, at No. 2 before Luiz Felipe Pinto and Rafael Rondino edged past the Eagles' Chris Perrigan and Vaz.
In singles, Rondino gave the Blazers a 2-0 advantage with his 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 over Bao. McSeveney made it 3-0 for UAB with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 3 over FGCU's Dean Tsamas.
In a match at No. 1 singles that featured a pair of nationally-ranked players, the Eagles' 70th-ranked Jordi Vives won a hard-fought 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 decision over the Blazers' 72nd-ranked Chris Helliar. Vives broke Helliar's serve in the sixth game of the second set to take a 4-2 lead en route to the win.
Vaz trimmed the UAB lead to 3-2 as he rallied past Dirube at No. 4 singles, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. With only matches at No. 5 and 6 still on the courts, Vancurik gave the Blazers the clinching fourth point with his win over Lvovsky.
The Eagles' Gabriel Echeverry provided the final win with his three-set victory at No. 6 over Pinto, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
UAB will continue the spring break trip Sunday with a match against Bethune-Cookman at Daytona Beach (2:30 p.m. ET).
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABAthletics. For men's tennis news, follow @uab_mtennis.
UAB 4, Florida Gulf Coast 3
Doubles
No. 1 - Dean Tsamas/Jordi Vives (FGCU) vs. Chris Helliar/Mitchell Martell (UAB) unfinished
No. 2 - Donovan McSeveney/Lucas Dirube (UAB) def. Tianyu Bao/Lance Lvovsky (FGCU) 8-4
No. 3 - Luiz Felipe Pinto/Rafael Rondino (UAB) def. Chris Perrigan/Lucas Vaz (FGCU) 8-6
Order of finish: (2,3)
Singles
No. 1 - #70 Jordi Vives (FGCU) def. #72 Chris Helliar (UAB) 7-6 (10-8), 6-4
No. 2 - Rafael Rondino (UAB) def. Tianyu Bao (FGCU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 - Donovan McSeveney (UAB) def. Dean Tsamas (FGCU) 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 - Lucas Vaz (FGCU) def. Lucas Dirube (UAB) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 - Stepan Vancurik (UAB) def. Lance Lvovsky (FGCU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
No. 6 - Gabriel Echeverry (FGCU) def. Luiz Felipe Pinto (UAB) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
Order of finish: (2,3,1,4,5,6)
Records: UAB 7-6, Florida Gulf Coast 6-9
Players Mentioned
