The Florida Atlantic University men’s tennis team lost to No. 70 Rice by a score of 4-0 in a non-conference match on March 13 in Boca Raton, following a weather delay of more than four hours.
This match was significant as both teams are members of the American Conference and are considered perennial contenders. The loss brings Florida Atlantic’s season record to 6-6, while Rice improves to 7-6.
Doubles play was competitive, with Rice securing the first point by winning on courts one and three. In singles, Rice extended its lead with victories on courts four and six. Although close matches continued on the top three courts, Jan Kusy of FAU split sets and led his match when FAU dropped court one, finalizing the result at 4-0 for Rice.
The match took place at the Kimberly V. Strauss Tennis Center in Boca Raton. Doubles results included wins for Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro (Rice) over Mark Havlicek and Marek Pazdera (FAU), as well as Rafael Botran and Tommy Czaplinski (Rice) over Luca Miremont and Lucca Pignaton (FAU). In singles, Kuzmenok defeated Segundo Goity Zapico (FAU), while Kabeer Kapasi (Rice) won against Simon Myslivec (FAU), and Gabriel Porras (Rice) beat Bullion Sharp (FAU).
Looking ahead, Florida Atlantic will host four home matches next week against ranked opponents including Old Dominion, East Tennessee, South Florida, and Memphis. All matches will be held at the Kimberly V. Strauss Tennis Center and are open to the public.
