BOX SCORE

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Daemen College men's tennis team suffered a 5-4 loss to Eckerd College here today in a non-conference match held at the Fred Bullard Courts on the Eckerd campus.

It was the first-ever meeting between the two NCAA Division II schools. Daemen dropped to 5-9 on the year, while the host Tritons—a member of the Sunshine State Conference—improved to 3-4 after winning for the third time in four matches.

The back-and-forth affair saw the Tritons take a 2-1 lead after doubles play, and then increase the lead to 3-1 after a win at No. 2 singles. Daemen won the next four singles matches to a take a 4-3 lead, only to the have the hosts rally to earn the 5-4 victory.

The match was not decided until the conclusion of an exciting showdown between two freshmen at No. 5 singles. Eckerd's Alejandro Vuconovic (Caracus, Venezuela) outlasted Pablo Martinez Hernandez (Hautulco, Mexico) of Daemen in the match. Martinez Hernandez took the first set 7-6 (10-9), before Vuconovic answered with a 6-4 decision in set two. Vuconovic prevailed in a pro set format (10-5) in set three to secure the win.

Daemen's lone win during doubles play came after juniors David Gonzalez Villegas (Pereira, Colombia) and Ricardo Ruiz Martinez (Valencia, Spain) posted an 8-5 win over junior Alasdair Knox (Donaghadee, Northern Ireland) and senior Connor Masella (Delray Beach, Fla.) at No. 2 doubles.

Sophomore Will Stone (Tallahassee, Fla.) opened singles play with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Gonzalez Villegas at No. 2 singles, before senior Mark Veitengruber (Rockford, Mich.) sparked Daemen's rally from a 3-1 deficit with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 6 singles. Veitengruber improved to 11-5 in singles play with the win. Ruiz Martinez followed with a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 3 singles, and the Wildcats took 4-3 lead after sophomore Fabian Wilde (Crimmitschau, Germany) posted a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles.

Knox evened the match at 4-4 after posting a 6-1, 6-3 win over freshman Tim Georg (Aschaffenburg, Germany) at No. 1 singles, setting up the exciting finish between Vuconovic and Martinez Hernandez.

Daemen concludes its stay in The Sunshine State tomorrow (March 16) with a non-conference match against Earlham College.

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