Feb. 16, 2008

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Opening the spring season at Montgomery, Ala., the West Florida Men's Tennis team (0-1) fell short against the NAIA's top ranked Auburn-Montgomery (5-0) team on Friday afternoon. The Argonauts earned a single point in the 8-1 loss to the Senators. West Florida opened the spring season ranked fourth in the NCAA Division II poll; however the first ranked Senators were superior this time.

In doubles play, the Argonauts earned a win, but couldn't pull out any singles wins. Eduardo Cavasotti (Florianopolis, Brazil) and Luis Arboleda (Medellin, Colombia) defeated the top doubles team from Auburn-Montgomery, formed by Sanakai Papi and Plasa, 8-6. However, the Argonauts fell short in the other two doubles spots. In the second spot, the Argonauts came close to earning one more point, when the team formed by Nicolas Barrientos (Cali, Colombia) and Patrick Bateman (Apopka, Fla.) lost 8-6. In the third position Luiz Bernardi (Campinas, Brazil) and Jose Ycaza (Guayaquil, Equador) were not able to stop Auburn-Montgomery's doubles team, falling 8-2.

In singles play, the Senators were just a notch better than the Argonauts, earning every single point. In the first singles position, Luis Arboleda fell to the Senators top player 6-4, 6-1. In the second position, 23rd ranked in the NCAA Division II rankings, Eduardo Cavasotti had a close first set, but was not able to keep up in the second, falling 7-5, 6-1. In the third position, 17th ranked in the NCAA Division II rankings, Nicolas Barrientos started slow and couldn't recover, losing 6-0, 6-4. Jose Ycaza played in the fourth position, and fell to the Senators fourth player 6-2, 6-0. Playing in the fifth position, Luiz Bernardi fell short with a 6-2, 7-6 loss. Making his debut with an Argonaut shirt, freshman Carlos Zamora was not able to earn his first victory in his first try, by losing his match 6-2, 6-3.

The Argonauts returned to action on Saturday, 16th in Columbus, Ga., against Georgia College, to be played at 1:00p.m.Eastern time. The Argonauts will open at home on March 13th, and expect a strong season despite the opening season lost.

Singles
#1 Victor Sanakai Papi (AUM) def. Luis Arboleda (UWF); 6-4, 6-1
#2 Daniel Plasa (AUM) def. Eduardo Cavasotti (UWF); 7-5, 6-1
#3 Alberto Gonzales (AUM) def. Nicolas Barrientos (UWF); 6-0, 6-4
#4 Michael Tucker (AUM) def. Jose Ycaza (UWF); 6-2, 6-0
#5 Francisco Redondo (AUM) def. Luiz Bernardi (UWF); 6-2, 7-6
#6 Tim Mudrick (AUM) def. Carlos Zamora (UWF); 6-2, 6-3

Doubles
#1 Arboleda/Cavasotti (UWF) def. Sanakai Papi/Plasa (AUM); 8-6
#2 Redondo/Gonzales (AUM) def. Barrientos/Patrick Bateman (UWF); 8-6
#3 Nikola Miskovia/Tucker (AUM) def. Bernardi/Ycaza (UWF); 8-2