The Florida Atlantic University men’s tennis team lost 4-0 to South Florida on March 20, following a stretch of five matches in nine days, four of which were against ranked opponents. The match at South Florida was the only road contest during this period and the only one against an unranked team.
This match came after weather-related schedule changes forced the Owls to play Wednesday night’s match on Thursday morning, requiring immediate travel for Friday’s early start. The compressed schedule and travel demands contributed to the team’s performance.
Florida Atlantic (6-9) adjusted its lineup for both singles and doubles play against South Florida (5-12). Mark Havlicek and Luca Miremont secured a 6-3 doubles win, but the Owls ultimately lost the doubles point. In singles play, FAU started slowly but attempted comebacks on several courts. However, losses on courts #6 and #2 put them at a disadvantage before they also dropped court #1, resulting in a 4-0 defeat.
The detailed results included wins by USF’s Hugo Car and Ettore Danesi over Lucca Pignaton and Vanja Hodzic (6-1), as well as James Newton and Toto Llanes defeating Simon Myslivec and Marek Pazdera (6-3). For singles, USF’s Hugo Car defeated Mark Havlicek (6-4, 7-6), Elijah Cham beat Marek Pazdera (6-3, 6-4), and Gughi Verdese won over Luca Miremont (6-1, 6-0).
Looking ahead, the Owls will return home for a match against No. 54 Memphis on Sunday, March 22 at the Kimberly V. Strauss Tennis Center. All home matches are free and open to the public.
