INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – No. 4-ranked Flagler upset top-ranked Valdosta State Friday morning 4-3 in the first match of the ITA NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Indoor National Championship at University of Indianapolis.
The Blazers, who were seeded No. 2 for the tournament, fell to 4-1 on the year, while Flagler, who was seeded No. 7, improved to 2-0 on the year. VSU now will play the loser of the Nos. 3/6 matchup between No. 3 Saint Leo and No. 5 West Florida on Saturday at 8 a.m. ET. VSU then will play a game on Sunday as well to conclude the tournament.
Things looked promising early for the Blazers as they took 1-0 lead winning two of the three doubles matches as senior
Luca Mack and junior
Rodrigo Carvalho won 6-3 at the top spot over Simon Malis and Philipp Lemken. Flagler won at No. 2 with Ilian Borlee and Baptiste Mercier winning 6-3 over junior
Takeshi Taco and freshman Jereome Iaconi. Sophomore
Jan Skerbatis and junior
Boruch Skierkier won 6-2 at No. 3 for the early lead.
Like always in this series between these two powerhouses, singles proved to be a dogfight down to the wire. Top-ranked Mercier won 7-5, 6-1, over Carvalho to tie the match at 1-1. The Saints took a 2-1 lead with Borlee winning 6-3, 6-4, at No. 6 over Skerbatis, but the Blazers regained the momentum with big wins at No. 4 as Skierkier, ranked No. 16 nationally, won 6-4, 6-4, and Taco, ranked No. 4 nationally, won 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), for a 3-2 lead.
Coming down to courts #1 and #5, Adamek Makary won the opening set 6-4 over Iaconi and then Iaconi responded in the second set, pushing the set to a tiebreak, but Makary won 7-6 (7-5) to level the match at 3-3. At No. 1, Mack dropped the first set 6-4 to No. 7-ranked Jacopo Denitto, but responded with a 6-4 win to send the match to a third set.
In the third, Mack took a 2-1 lead, but Denitto came roaring back winning the next three games for a 4-2 lead. Mack pulled within 3-4 on a 40-30 win, but Denitto responded for 5-3. Mack looked as if he were going to regain the momentum winning a 40-40 game for a 4-5 deficit, but Denitto won 40-Love to clinch the match.
