Friday, April 16, 2010

DeLAND, Fla. – The second-seeded Stetson men’s tennis team (20-4) came out on top in a see-saw match with third-seeded UNF (18-8) in the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center on Friday, outlasting the visiting Ospreys 4-2. Sophomores Cesare Gallo (Portogruaro, Italy) and Maksim Levanovich (Minsk, Belarus) won in singles and doubles for the Hatters; both won in three sets with Gallo providing the match-clinching point.

UNF rallied from a 1-0 deficit after the doubles portion to take a 2-1 lead as Leonardo Nahar and Graham Edgar won on Courts 5 and 6, respectively. Nahar’s 6-1, 6-1 win over junior Alex Hackett (Surrey, England) at #5 singles was the only match to be decided in two sets in the four-hour affair.

Levanovich rallied from a set down to beat Moritz Buerchner 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Court 1, drawing the match even; freshman Didrik Berg (Oslo, Norway) followed with a 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 win over Taylor Albrecht on Court 4 that gave the Hatters a 3-2 lead. Gallo patiently out-pointed Hleb Maslau at the #3 slot by a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 score to finally end the match in Stetson’s favor. The Hatters have now advanced to five consecutive A-Sun tournament championship matches.

Gallo and Levanovich won at #2 doubles with an 8-2 triumph over Albrecht and Kurt Gattiker while senior Mark Mestan (Cologne, Germany) and sophomore Njal Stene (Oslo, Norway) brought home the doubles point for Stetson with an 8-5 win over Buerchner and Nahar on Court 3.

The Hatters will take aim at their first A-Sun title tomorrow at 10 a.m. as they face top seed and nationally 59th-ranked ETSU. The Buccaneers have claimed three straight tournament crowns.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.