The UNF tennis teams brought their A-game to Macon, Ga., to defeat the Mercer University Bears with a close tournament for the men and a steal for the women.

Men’s Tennis

 The UNF men’s tennis team beat Mercer University 4-3, March 20.

 The Ospreys secured the doubles point early in the game by earning the majority in the match. 

 At No. 1, junior Hleb Maslau and freshman Daniel Sotomarino picked up the first win with a score of 8-5 against Mercer’s combination of Fernando Armendaris and Evandro Rosindo. 

 Freshmen Leonardo Nahar and Moritz Buerchner also pummeled their opponents Adam Hunt and David Barton with a score of 8-1. 

 But the momentum wasn’t enough to hold off the Bears in the third match as they beat UNF 8-3 during the third doubles game.

 The singles points, however, were spread evenly between UNF and Mercer. 

 Buberman said the team underestimated the Bears, who kept the Ospreys on the edge during the match. “We thought it was going to be an easier match, they fought hard … I think we could have done a better job on finishing it up early.”

Maslau beat Rosindo 6-1, 6-3 in game one before Mercer’s Armendaris beat Muerchner 3-6, 6-3, 7-6  in game two. But Sotomarino returned to bring a lead back to UNF after a tough three sets against Peter Tauchner. He concluded the match with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win in game three. Mercer won games four and five. Nahar tried to add another win for the Ospreys but playing a tough three set match proved to be too much for him in the No. 4 match against Victor Dias. Junior Graham Edgar also lost to David Barton in game five with the score ending 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3. Senior Kurt Gattiker was the player who sealed the close win for the Ospreys, as he secured the final singles point in game six, defeating Hunt with a 6-4, 6-3 win.

 Men’s Head Coach Igal Buberman commended the team for pushing towards victory. “I think we have more talent and we’re better trained than that team,” Buberman said.

 After the game against Mercer, UNF’s record stands at 14-4 overall and 5-1 in A-Sun Conference play. Mercer’s record rests at 6-7 overall and 0-4 in the A-Sun Conference. UNF will now rally against USC Upstate at home March 26 at 10 a.m. and play Campbell University at home March 27 at 1 p.m.

 Buberman said the biggest strength of the team was their ability in”creating momentum together.”
Women’s Tennis

Unlike the slight victory of the UNF men’s tennis team, the women aced Mercer 7-0, improving UNF’s overall record to 14-1, while they remain undefeated in the Atlantic Sun Conference with 6-0.

 Women’s Head Coach Rodrigo Puebla commended the team for their victory against the Bears. Puebla said it is difficult to determine how tennis matches are going to play out. “In tennis, you never know how they’re going to show up so it’s very difficult to estimate who’s going to win or who’s going to show up,” he said.

 Senior Raquel Castro and sophomore Aline Berkenbrock, the No.1 doubles team at UNF, defeated Mercer’s Jennifer Lada and Amalia Bugge 8-5 in game one of the doubles match, securing the first doubles win.

Mercer was able to come back and claim a win during game two of the doubles, as Anna Wieslander and Priscilla Dias defeated sophomore Danielle Day and freshman Melanie Aguirre 8-7 (7-2). But it was their only win of the match. Game three returned to the Ospreys when juniors Lauren Holton and Vitcoria Krook trampled Stephanie Cohen and Sarah Hanna with a shutout 8-0 score.

 The Osprey women won all the single-point games. Berkenbrock slammed Lada in game one 6-1, 6-2, while Castro went to war against Wieslander in three sets before winning game two, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 10-4. Day defeated Bugge in solid sets in game three, 6-0,6-0, and Krook played two great sets against Dias, defeating her 6-1, 6-0 in game four. Aguirre sealed the ace against Mercer after making a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Cohen in game five while Holton continued her undefeated streak this season, beating Hanna 6-1,6-0 in game six.

Berkenbrock and Holton remain undefeated during this season, and Puebla discussed the importance of having everyone on their A-game. “It’s very difficult to have everyone show up every match,” Puebla said.

 The Ospreys’ win against Mercer left the Bears’ record at 5-5 overall and 1-4 in the A-Sun conference. The women’s team hopes to continue that streak as it travels to Orlando March 24 to go head-to-head against the University of Central Florida Knights at 4 p.m.