ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Lee University men's tennis team remained unbeaten with a 4-3 upset of No. 4 Flagler College Tuesday afternoon at the Flagler Tennis Center. The win is the second over a top 10 team this season. The Flames improved to 9-0, while the Saints fell to 5-4.
"It was loud, it was hot and Flagler created an unreal environment," said Lee head coach Patric Hynes. "To be honest, that's one of the best atmospheres I've experienced in 20+ years of college tennis."
The Flames grabbed an early advantage after winning two of the three doubles matches. Nico Ramirez and Francisco Faria won 6-0 at No. 1 doubles. Mike and Quinn Groenendijk were 7-6 winners at No. 2 doubles. Drew Johnston and Wihan Van Der Merwe lost 6-4 at the third position to Petr Cervinka and Jacopo Denitto.
"We made a brilliant start in doubles at No. 1. Nico and Kiko just played so strong today. Mike and Quinn had to withstand a tough pair and they played a flawless tiebreaker," praised Hynes.
Philipp Lemken opened singles competition with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Van Der Merwe. Ramirez outlasted Nikita Tatyanin 8-6 in a tiebreaker to win the opening set of No.1 singles 7-6 and completed the win with a 6-2 mark in the second set.
"Nico was incredibly tough today. He is always there for us in the biggest matches," Hynes said.
The Flames and Saints traded wins at No. 3 and No. 6 singles to push the score to 3-2. Cervinka defeated Jordi Dasi 6-2 and 7-6. Johnston edged Diego Amilibia 7-6 and 6-4.
"Drew has come so far in his college tennis career. To see him come through for us in that environment was incredibly gratifying," added Hynes.
Faria lost in three sets to Denitto (6-4, 1-6, 6-4) at No. 2 singles to leave the No. 5 singles match between Quinn Groenendijk and Fernando Bulnes as the deciding point.
Groenendijk posted a 7-5 tiebreaker to win the opening set 7-6, before dropping the second set 7-5. Groenendijk completed the win and clinched the team victory with a 6-4 score in the third set.
"Quinn was a beast for us today," said Hynes. "He served for the match in the second set and didn't quite get there. Then he had to hold his nerve all through the third set under enormous pressure. To be a freshman and come through in that moment says a lot for his character.
"We did it the right way all day today and held our composure and nerve under extreme pressure. That is what our program is all about. I'm so proud of this group of guys. We're going to get back to Cleveland and get some good rest and recovery and get ourselves ready for the last half of our season," concluded Hynes.
The Flames return to the DeVos Tennis Center on March 16 to take on University of Texas at Tyler. The non-conference match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
