Mercer University
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North Fla.
Tennis Teams Drop A Pair of Matches to Nationally-Ranked North Florida on Senior Day
4/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
MACON, Ga.—The Mercer tennis teams celebrated Senior Day on Saturday, however, nationally-ranked North Florida spoiled the proceedings by handing both teams losses in decisive fashion to close out the 2012 season at the Leroy Peddy Tennis Center.
The opening match of the day saw the Mercer men's team drop a 6-1 decision to the No. 58 North Florida in the opening match of the A-Sun doubleheader.
With the loss, the Mercer men's tennis team concludes its 2012 season with a 5-12 overall mark, while posting a 2-7 record in league play. UNF now improves to 18-5 overall and head into the A-Sun Tournament next weekend in Johnson City, Tenn. as the No. 2 seed after finishing 8-1 in conference play.
Despite the 6-1 setback, the Bears played inspired tennis and UNF would find that its final match before the conference tournament would be anything but a tune-up, as the Bears contested the Ospreys at each of the doubles flights, as well as doing so at a majority of the matches in the singles competition.
The Ospreys were able to take the doubles point, sweeping the three matches, however, two of the three doubles pairings required a tiebreaker, and the third was decided by just a single point
At the No. 1, Victor Dias and David Barton fell, 9-7, to Daniel Sotomarino and Norbert Nemcsek, while UNF's Beauregard Treyz and Julien Belair bested Vincent DeLise and Joao Pagan, 8-7, at the No. 2. The sweep was completed at the No. 3 flight, as UNF's Pedro Davisson and Leonardo Nahar were able to hold off Pierre Tafelski and Peter Tauchner, 9-8.
Though the Bears were only able to take one point off the Ospreys in the singles competition, it was a fitting way to garner the point, as senior Pierre Tafelski battled to a 6-2, 7-6 win over A-Sun reigning Player of the Week Sotomarino at the No. 1. For Tafelski, he finishes out his senior season with an impressive 9-6 mark playing the No. 1 position.
Tafelski has been an instant impact player for the Bears since transferring in from Ouachita Baptist College a couple of years ago, where he was an all-conference performer. The native of Nantes, France has fashioned a 19-16 at the No. 1 position in his two years at Mercer.
It would also be the end of a solid career for Barton, and has been among the most reliable players in the lineup each of his four seasons donning the Orange and Black.
Barton was particularly impressive in doubles play during his career, as he finished 11-8 last season and enjoyed his top individual season as a sophomore, going 14-3 playing the No. 4-6 positions. He dropped his final match as a Bear, with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Nahar at No. 4.
Pagan, who has battled a fractured ankle much of the season, and re-aggravated that injury last week, but in a valiant effort playing at the No. 2, only to drop a 0-6, 6-7 contest to Nemcsek.
Tauchner put up a strong fight at the No. 3, losing to UNF's Davisson, 1-6, 7-5, 0-6 and Dias gave Timo Kranz everything he could handle at the No. 6 before falling, 5-7, 6-7.
The Mercer women's team closed out its 2012 campaign with a 7-0 loss to visiting North Florida, and that clinched the regular-season A-Sun crown for the Ospreys as well as the top overall seed for the upcoming A-Sun Tennis Tournament next weekend in Johnson City, Tenn.
With the loss, Mercer concludes its 2012 season with a 2-13 overall mark and an 0-9 league ledger. UNF improved to 14-4 overall and completed its league slate a perfect 9-0.
It was the final match for a couple of Bears on Saturday afternoon, as Jennifer Lada and Sarah Hanna suited up for the final time in the Orange and Black.
Lada would drop her final match as a Bear, as she dropped an 0-6, 0-6 decision to Aline Berkenbrock at the No. 1. Lada concluded her 2012 season with a 3-11 mark overall, playing primarily at the No. 2 position this season for the Bears. Lada, who teamed with Lucie Payrat in doubles, closed her final season as a Bear with a 7-7 overall record and a 4-5 mark in conference play. Lada is a three-time Atlantic Sun All-Academic selection.
Hanna would drop an 0-6, 0-6 decision to UNF's Melanie Aguirre at the No.5 to close out her career. The Athens, Ga. native is a three-time Atlantic Sun All-Academic selection.
Players Mentioned
