Altamonte Springs, Fl.- Charleston picks up doubles point to take the early 1-0 lead, but Flagler fought back to defeat the Golden Eagles 4-1.
The Basics:
Location: Sanlando Park
Score: UC 1, Flagler 4
How it Happened:
Charleston entered the NCAA Sweet Sixteen as the number 10 seed and ranked 19th in the country. Flagler entered the match as the number 7 seed and ranked 6th in the country.
The third doubles team of Stevens and Rawson, notched the first win of doubles with a dominating 6-1 performance. Twenty minutes later, the number one doubles team of Dagostine and Giesberts lost 6-4 to the 17th ranked doubles pair in the country. It would come down to Patel and Llorente for the doubles point. The UC pair broke serve at 5-5 to take the lead 6-5. From there, Patel served out the match, winning the game at love and securing the doubles point for Charleston.
Flagler came striking back, taking two quick with wins at 2nd and 3rd singles. Meanwhile, Magill (#6) won the first set 7-5 while Llorente (#1), Patel (#4), and Rawson (#5) all lost close first sets. Flagler had the momentum and was dominating the second sets at 1st and 5th singles, but then the tide began to change. Llorente came back from 5-1 down to tie the set at 5-5. Rawson came back from 5-2 to tie the set at 5-5 fighting off numerous match points in the comeback. As these matches were tied up, Patel lost the second set in a tie-breaker. Flagler now led 3-1. While Rawson was able to pull even, he was not able to pull ahead and lost the second set 7-5.
The final score was Flagler College 4, Charleston 1. Magill's match was unfinished with Magill leading 7-5, 4-3 as was Llorente's match at 5-7, 5-5. Flagler plays second seeded Hawaii Pacific in the quarterfinals.
Of the match, Coach Santen said, "Our team did everything we asked of them today. We asked them to fight hard with everything in them, and they did that today. We had our chances to beat the number 6 team in the country, but just came up a little short today."
Sam Clarke added, "The boys were impressive today. They showed that they can compete with anyone in the country. I was especially proud of Jowan Rawson today, as he fought through heat exhaustion to come back and nearly take the second set."
When asked to reflect on the season as a whole, Matt Santen said, "We set out to accomplish three goals this year. Win the Mountain East Conference, make the NCAA National Tournament, and finish in the top 25 in the country. We achieved our goals and more by finishing in the top 20 in the country and by having the most wins (22) of any team in division 2 tennis heading into the tournament. I'm proud of what we accomplished on the court and of the comradery and friendship off the court. This is my last season at the helm of the men's tennis program, and it's a great way to go out. I look forward to Alec Foote building on this foundation into the future."
