Friday, March 31
JACKSONVILLE
2 P.M.
Jacksonville State University
vs
%20(1).png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
North Florida
ASUN Slate Continues as Men's Tennis Meets UNF
3/30/2023 10:06:00 AM | Men's Tennis
JACKSONVILLE – After splitting last weekend's ASUN Conference matches along the east coast, Jacksonville State men's tennis returns home this weekend for another important league test. The Gamecocks will host a red-hot North Florida squad at 2 p.m. Friday to start the first of back-to-back contests at the JSU Tennis Courts.
"This will be a huge weekend in the conference for us," associate head coach Trey Morris said. "We'll have UNF, a program that has had a strong national reputation for a while now, and Kennesaw State, who always has a team that's dangerous."
Jax State (10-8, 2-2) went 1-1 last weekend. They dominated the doubles point and never slowed down, cruising to a 6-1 triumph at Queens (N.C.) on Friday. Vicente Arbelaez, Vanja Dobrnjac, Alin Fatu, Xavier Sarda Marti, and Lucius Soller each tallied singles victories to clinch the match and pad the advantage in a win in Charlotte. Simply put, though, the Gamecocks ran into a buzzsaw in Sunday's 7-0 loss at Liberty. The Flames improved to 6-0 in conference play with a sweep of Jacksonville State, who only managed one doubles victory on the day, coming on court one from Dobrnjac and Soller.
Now, Morris' men will enjoy their final full weekend at home as they get set to welcome North Florida on Friday and Kennesaw State on Sunday.
"Our guys are coming off a disappointing result at Liberty," Morris said. "However, after that match we had discussions about some areas that we needed to address and fixed some things we need to sure-up before jumping into this big weekend. The guys have responded very well, and we've had a great week of practice. We feel that we're ready to compete against that 'other team from Jacksonville,' and achieve our goal of securing a top-four seed for the conference tournament."
The Ospreys (10-5, 3-1) have picked up right where they left off following a 16-win campaign last Spring that saw them advance to the ASUN Semifinals. North Florida scored a ranked win at home over no. 74 Cleveland State (4-3) on March 12 and also posted impressive non-conference victories over Air Force (5-2), Charleston (7-0), and Georgia State (7-0). UNF opened league action with three straight results before falling at home to FGCU, 4-3, Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla.
Jacksonville State and North Florida have played three times in the past. The Gamecocks lost at UNF, 8-1, in 1994, and fell 4-3 in Duval County, Fla., the next season. Last year ended a 27-year hiatus between the two programs, as the Ospreys handed Jax State a 4-3 setback in Jacksonville, Ala.
Links to follow along with Friday's match against UNF will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com. The men's contest will follow the women's match, which will start at 10 a.m.
Jacksonville State tennis remain at home on Sunday afternoon to play host to ASUN rival Kennesaw State. The women will play at 10 a.m. before the men's match at 2 o'clock.
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Twitter (@JaxStateTN), Instagram (@JaxStateMTennis), and Facebook (Jacksonville State University Tennis) accounts.
"This will be a huge weekend in the conference for us," associate head coach Trey Morris said. "We'll have UNF, a program that has had a strong national reputation for a while now, and Kennesaw State, who always has a team that's dangerous."
Jax State (10-8, 2-2) went 1-1 last weekend. They dominated the doubles point and never slowed down, cruising to a 6-1 triumph at Queens (N.C.) on Friday. Vicente Arbelaez, Vanja Dobrnjac, Alin Fatu, Xavier Sarda Marti, and Lucius Soller each tallied singles victories to clinch the match and pad the advantage in a win in Charlotte. Simply put, though, the Gamecocks ran into a buzzsaw in Sunday's 7-0 loss at Liberty. The Flames improved to 6-0 in conference play with a sweep of Jacksonville State, who only managed one doubles victory on the day, coming on court one from Dobrnjac and Soller.
Now, Morris' men will enjoy their final full weekend at home as they get set to welcome North Florida on Friday and Kennesaw State on Sunday.
"Our guys are coming off a disappointing result at Liberty," Morris said. "However, after that match we had discussions about some areas that we needed to address and fixed some things we need to sure-up before jumping into this big weekend. The guys have responded very well, and we've had a great week of practice. We feel that we're ready to compete against that 'other team from Jacksonville,' and achieve our goal of securing a top-four seed for the conference tournament."
The Ospreys (10-5, 3-1) have picked up right where they left off following a 16-win campaign last Spring that saw them advance to the ASUN Semifinals. North Florida scored a ranked win at home over no. 74 Cleveland State (4-3) on March 12 and also posted impressive non-conference victories over Air Force (5-2), Charleston (7-0), and Georgia State (7-0). UNF opened league action with three straight results before falling at home to FGCU, 4-3, Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla.
Jacksonville State and North Florida have played three times in the past. The Gamecocks lost at UNF, 8-1, in 1994, and fell 4-3 in Duval County, Fla., the next season. Last year ended a 27-year hiatus between the two programs, as the Ospreys handed Jax State a 4-3 setback in Jacksonville, Ala.
Links to follow along with Friday's match against UNF will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com. The men's contest will follow the women's match, which will start at 10 a.m.
Jacksonville State tennis remain at home on Sunday afternoon to play host to ASUN rival Kennesaw State. The women will play at 10 a.m. before the men's match at 2 o'clock.
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Twitter (@JaxStateTN), Instagram (@JaxStateMTennis), and Facebook (Jacksonville State University Tennis) accounts.
%20(1).png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Sunday, May 17
Saturday, May 16
Wednesday, May 13
Sunday, May 10
