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Noles tennis tops South Alabama, Furman

Posted at 10:58 PM, Jan 12, 2014
and last updated 2015-03-04 17:31:33-05

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State men’s tennis team closed out the weekend with a pair of wins on Sunday at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center. The No. 36 Seminoles topped both South Alabama and Furman to up their record to 4-0 on the season. This is the fourth straight year the team has started with four consecutive wins to start the season.

“I was glad to get the season started off with a 4-0 start,” said head coach Dwayne Hultquist. “I was really pleased with Dominic Cotrone’s weekend going 6-0. I was glad to see the freshmen get some good work in with Jose Gracia going 3-0 and Grayson and Jake to play. It’s early in the season and we have work to go in both singles and doubles.”

The Seminoles started the brisk morning off against South Alabama coming out on top with a 5-2 win. In doubles play, the first of the season, No. 9 Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez won 6-1 over Manuel Belda and Gerhard Gruindelingh. Senior Blake Davis and junior Dominic Cotrone clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win over Daniel Leitner and Juan Troglia.

After a quick break, the teams got back on the court for singles where junior Cristian Gonzalez Mendez got a quick 6-0, 6-4 win over Belda on court five. Davis came off the courts next where he defeated Shayann Vaezzadeh 6-3, 6-1. Cotrone then clinched the match as he defeated Tuki Jacobs 6-4, 6-0 on court two.

“I thought I played well this weekend” said Cotrone. “It was great for the team to see where we match up against the good teams we played. Everyone played well and it was great for the freshmen to get their first wins as a Seminole. It was a little difficult to transition from indoors to outdoors but I played well and struck the ball well. I’m proud of the way our team performed.”

Freshman Jose Gracia added another point to the Florida State. Gracia battled in a tough first set tiebreaker and then showed his talent to finish off the 6-5 (4), 6-3 win.

In the afternoon, the Seminoles came out on top with a 4-0 win over Mercer. In doubles play, Cotrone and Davis once against teamed up for a win as they topped Alex Christ and Joel Cook 6-2. Sophomore Michael Rinaldi and freshman Grayson Goldin clinched the point with a 6-4 win over Matt Browne and Adam Steryous on court three. This match was Goldin’s first win of the season.

In singles play, the Seminoles once again came out strong and won all six first sets. Cotrone continued his stellar play and won his sixth match of the weekend as he topped Browne 6-0, 6-1 on court one.

Goldin used his doubles momentum to nab a 6-3, 6-4 win over Cook on court five. Davis clinched the match against Juan Sheppard on court four with a 6-3, 6-4 score.

Check back to Seminoles.com for all your information on the men’s tennis team and follow the team at twitter.com/fsu_mtennis.

Results

No. 36 Florida State 5 def. South Alabama 2

Doubles

1. No. 9 Lock/Bubez (FSU) def. Gruindelingh/Belda (USA) 6-1

2. Cotrone/Davis (FSU) def. Leitner/Troglia (USA) 6-2

3. Rinaldi/Goldin (FSU) vs. Vaezzadeh/Jacobs (USA) dnf

Order of finish: 1, 2

Singles

1. No. 117 Daniel Leitner (USA) def. No. 61 Benjamin Lock (FSU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4

2. Dominic Cotrone (FSU) def. Tuki Jacobs (USA) 6-4, 6-0

3. Blake Davis (FSU) def. Shayann Vaezzadeh (USA) 6-3, 6-1

4. Gerhard Gruindelingh (USA) def. Marco Nunez (FSU) 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7)

5. Cristian Gonzalez Mendez (FSU) def. Manuel Belda (USA) 6-0, 6-4

6. Jose Gracia (FSU) def. Juan Troglia (USA)

Order of finish: 5, 3, 2, 4, 6, 2

No. 36 Florida State 4 def. Furman 0

Doubles

1. Cotrone/Davis (FSU) def. Cook/Christ (FUR) 6-2

2. Gonzalez Mendez/Lock (FSU) vs. Steryous/Behal (FUR)

3. Goldin/Rinaldi (FSU) def. Horst/Browne (FUR) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 3

Singles

1. Dominic Cotrone (FSU) def. Matt Browne (FUR) 6-0, 6-1

2. No. 61 Benjamin Lock (FSU) vs. Adam Steryous (FUR)

3. Cristian Gonzalez Mendez (FSU) vs. Jacob Behal (FUR)

4. Blake Davis (FSU) def. Juan Sheppard (FUR) 6-2, 6-4

5. Grayson Goldin (FSU) def. Joel Cook (FUR) 6-3, 6-4

6. Jake Albo (FSU) vs. Ben Horst (FUR)

Order of finish: 1, 5, 4