Bears Open Spring Season Against No. 20 Florida State, Jacksonville State

MACON – The Mercer men's tennis team will resume the spring portion of its 2023-24 schedule this weekend when the Bears trek to Tallahassee, Fla., to battle both 20^th-ranked Florida State and Jacksonville State at FSU's Scott Speicher Memorial Tennis Center.

Mercer is set to lock horns with the nationally-ranked Seminoles on Saturday at 10 a.m., and will tangle with the Gamecocks on Sunday at 10 a.m.

The Orange & Black is just more than two months removed from wrapping up the fall portion of their current slate at the Wofford Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C. Macon native Samuel Barrow exited the fall with a team-best seven singles victories, including a perfect 4-0 mark at the Mercer Gridiron Classic in early October. MU's tandem of seniors Marceau Fouilhoux and Nemanja Stefanovic paced the Bears in doubles competition with a trio of triumphs.

Florida State is set to open its season as well on Friday after an impressive fall. Junior Jamie Connel, an import from Edinburgh, Scotland, will tote a No. 97 singles ranking into the weekend after posting an 8-3 mark in the fall, while FSU's doubles team of senior Youcef Rihane and graduate student Loris Pourroy is ranked No 52 in the latest collegiate rankings by the International Tennis Association (ITA).

Graduate transfer Ivan Marrero Curbelo will lead the charge for the Gamecocks in Sunday's action against the Bears. Marrero Curbelo, a former standout for Saint Leo, rattled off a 4-2 mark in fall singles play and was assigned a No. 45 national ranking in the mid-November rankings by the ITA. The Gamecocks played a busy fall schedule that included trips to both Samford and North Alabama, and are scheduled to lift the lid on their spring schedule against Florida State on Friday afternoon.

Following this weekend's action, Mercer will resume its 2023-24 spring schedule, Jan. 19-20, when it travels to Miami, Fla., to take on Miami (Fla.) and Buffalo. The Bears are scheduled to open the home portion of their schedule on January 28 with a tri-match against Emmanuel and ABAC at the LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center.

Bears Open Spring Season Against No. 20 Florida State, Jacksonville State

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Players Mentioned

Samuel Barrow

Marceau Fouilhoux

Nemanja Stefanovic

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