Feb. 7, 2007

Final Stats

Daytona Beach, Fla. - Stetson University won all but one forfeited singles point on Wednesday afternoon as they cruised past Bethune-Cookman College, 6-1, in a men's tennis match held at the City Island Tennis Complex in Daytona Beach, Fla. The match was a rescheduled contest from two weeks ago when driving rain forced the match until today.

Bethune-Cookman (0-2) started off strong in the doubles sets as the No. 1 team of Thabani Sithole and Cristian Cruz matched up well with Stetson's team of Marcus Echtler and Filip Kricka. The Hatters (2-4) took the set with an 8-3 decision, but B-CC's team seemed ready for the match today with a positive showing in the top doubles position.

Stetson, however, won the next two doubles sets for the point by allowing just three (3) games slip away with 8-2 and 8-1 wins, respectively. In singles play, Stetson's No. 1 position player of Marcus Echtler was unable to go after the doubles match. That forced all of Stetson's entered players to move up one spot.

The change didn't seem to affect the Hatters in a negative way as Serguei Boulanov defeated B-CC's Sithole in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Sithole, however, seemed to be back in rare form as he battled with a serious backhand and a dominant forehand that could possibly be one of the best in the MEAC [Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference].

"We played really hard today, and Thabani [Sithole] really showed some good improvements from the off-season," stated B-CC head coach Trey Bogue. "Stetson has a great team, and I think we are really getting ready for the MEAC as we continue to play hard against some good non-conference opponents."

In the No. 2 spot, Stetson's Hicham Laalej knocked off Cruz (6-4, 6-0), while Jerome Ward of B-CC fell by an identical score in the No. 3 spot to the Hatters' Kricka.

The `Cats Stefan James battled tough against Stetson's Joey Jones in the No. 4 spot, but it was Jones pulling out the victory with scores of 6-1, 6-2. Peter Dzuba completed the head-to-heads weep of the Wildcats with a 6-2, 6-4 wins over B-CC's Yannick Jackson.

Bethune-Cookman earned the one (1) point on the afternoon as Edson Luiz Gomez took a forfeit victory over a non-opponent in the No. 6 position. No opponent was present due to the line-up change forced from the injury caused to Stetson's Echtler.

"I still think we are improving a lot, and I am happy with the way we did the little things I wanted to work on," exclaimed Bogue. "We are going to keep at it, and prepare for our next match against Florida Atlantic ... and then maybe we will be ready for a very tough MEAC schedule. The last two match scores may not show it, but we are improving in my eyes."