ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The ranking before Barry's name came as advertised. Even given a tough 6-1 loss for the No. 14-ranked Flagler men's tennis team Saturday versus the reigning national champion and top-ranked Bucs, the Saints never backed down.
"We lost 1:6, but we could have won two more matches with some fortune," Director of Tennis and men's tennis head coach
Thomas Hipp said. "The opponents were strong as anticipated as the reigning national champion. Our first and third doubles did well and could have had a better ending. In singles, Rodrigo was a highlight, but George (Jiri) and Tommaso also came very close to a win. Hopefully we gain confidence to compete hard at the ITA next week."
The Saints (1-3) now prepare for the ITA National Indoor Championship, beginning at 9 a.m. Friday versus No. 9-ranked Hawai'i Pacific in Oklahoma City. Flagler will then play Columbus State or Saint Leo on Saturday before concluding the weekend trip on Sunday.
In doubles, Barry (2-0) took the point but Flagler's
Luca Bolla, who is ranked No. 47, and
Jiri Jenicek gave the Bucs' No. 1 player in Division II men's tennis, Alejandro Gallego, and the No. 37-ranked Carlos Gomez a run for their money, before ultimate falling, 4-6. The same could be said for the pair of
Tommaso Bagon and
Rodrigo Carvalho as they dropped the match, 3-6.
In singles, Flagler's No. 2 singles player
Rodrigo Carvalho edged Gomez, defeating him 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6) in the next-to-last singles match to wrap up and hand the Saints their lone point of the day. With that being said, Jenicek came close to upsetting Alessandro Giuliato, who is ranked No. 10 individually, while Bagon competed Ignasi Forcano fiercely before coming up just short.
| Singles |
| 1. #1 Alejandro Gallego (BARRY-M) def. #47 Luca Bolla (FLG) 6-1, 6-0 |
| 2. Rodrigo Carvalho (FLG) def. #37 Carlos Gomez (BARRY-M) 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6) |
| 3. #10 Alessandro Giuliato (BARRY-M) def. Jiri Jenicek (FLG) 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 1-0 (10-7) |
| 4. Arnau Rodriguez (BARRY-M) def. Rasmus Jonsson (FLG) 6-3, 6-2 |
| 5. Tim Buttner (BARRY-M) def. Felipe Carvalho (FLG) 6-4, 6-1 |
| 6. Ignasi Forcano (BARRY-M) def. Tommaso Bagon (FLG) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) |
| Match Notes |
| Barry 2-0; National ranking #1; Regional ranking #1 |
| Flagler 1-3; National ranking #14; Regional ranking #4 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,4,5,6,2,3) |
Be the first to know what's going on with the Saints -- Follow @FlaglerSports on Twitter, follow FlaglerSports on Instagram, become a fan of Flagler College Athletics on Facebook and subscribe to the Flagler College Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with Flagler Athletics.
