TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State men’s tennis team (28-4) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Alabama State (11-10) 4-0 in an hour and 15 minutes. The Seminoles will take on Alabama (19-12) tomorrow at 4 p.m. with a chance to make it to the final site.
“It was a nice to win that quickly,” said head coach Dwayne Hultquist. “It was good to get up on all of the singles courts really quick. We got five first sets pretty darn quick and eventually got the sixth one. It was nice how we got it done quickly. It is what we needed to do heading into tomorrow.”
Florida State jumped out of the gates with doubles wins on courts one and two. Redshirt senior Lucas Poullain and junior Aziz Dougaz earned the first doubles point on court one. The duo went up 5-0 before letting up their only point of the match on their way to a 6-1 win. On court two senior Guy Iradukunda and sophomore Alex Knaff fell behind 2-1 before rebounding and taking five of the next six games en route to a 6-3 win and the doubles point.
In singles, the Seminoles took the first set on all six courts including sweeps on court one, two and three.
Dougaz was the first to finish as he won 6-0, 6-1 on court one. He swept the first set before letting up the first game of the second set. Dougaz then won six straight again on his way to giving the Noles a 2-0 lead.
Iradukunda quickly followed as he too swept the first set 6-0. In the second set he jumped out to a 2-0 lead before letting up his first point. Iradukunda extended the lead to 5-2 before finishing off his opponent on court two 6-2.
Poullain earned his fourth match clincher on court three has he was the last of the trio to shutout their opponent in the first set. In the second set, he went up 2-0 before forfeiting his first point and then finished off his opponent 6-2 in the second.
The Seminoles will take on Alabama tomorrow at 4 p.m. with a shot of advancing to the NCAA final site in Winston-Salem, N.C.
To keep up with the Seminoles, check Seminoles.com for the latest news and scheduling information, or keep up with the team on social media through Twitter (@FSU_MTennis), Facebook (/FSUMTennis), and Instagram @FSU_MTennis).
#11 Florida State University 4, Alabama State 0
Singles competition
1. #25 Aziz Dougaz (FS) def. Carl-Louis Luckmann (ALST) 6-0, 6-1
2. #44 Guy Iradukunda (FS) def. Tomas Fernandez (ALST) 6-0, 6-2
3. #34 Lucas Poullain (FS) def. Alexis Collard (ALST) 6-0, 6-2
4. Alex Knaff (FS) vs. Chris Andre (ALST) 6-2, 1-1, unfinished
5. Chase Wood (FS) vs. Alejo Calvis (ALST) 6-3, 1-0, unfinished
6. Rana Roop Bhullar (FS) vs. Andrej Trajkovski (ALST) 6-1, 4-0, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Aziz Dougaz/Lucas Poullain (FS) def. Andrej Trajkovski/Alexis Collard (ALST) 6-1
2. #60 Guy Iradukunda/Alex Knaff (FS) def. Tomas Fernandez/Carl-Louis Luckmann (ALST) 6-3
3. Jose Gracia/Terrance Whitehurst (FS) vs. Alejo Calvis/Chris Andre (ALST) 4-5, unfinished
Match Notes:
Alabama State 11-10
Florida State University 28-4; National ranking #11
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,2,3)
