Saint Leo, Fla.- Lynn University's ninth-ranked men's tennis team defeated Florida Southern in the first round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament on Thursday night. The Fighting Knights swept doubles play to pull ahead 3-0 en route to a 5-0 victory. The Blue & White are set to face #2 seed Saint Leo at 5 pm on Friday, April 24.
Lynn's top duo of Pavel Mojha ad Mehdi Laalej earned an 8-2 win over Laurent Mailloux and Charles Garneau. Daniel Riggs and Alessio Iannozzi had a tough battle at the No. 2 spot but emerged victorious over Fabian Lundberg and Brian Silvonik, 8-6. Paolo Volpicelli and Fernando Rivas 8-4 win over Arthur Viallaneix and Derek Bell completed doubles play for a 3-0 Fighting Knights lead.
At the No. 4 singles spot Laalej made quick work over Blaine Miller with two quick sets of 6-0 victories and 11th-ranked Riggs won at the top of the lineup with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Lundberg to finalize the match 5-0 in Lynn's favor.
The Fighting Knights next challenge is set for 5 pm on Friday when they take on host school Saint Leo. SLU topped Lynn 5-4 during the regular season. Fans can follow live stats at LynnFightingKnights.com. Don't forget to 'Like' us on Facebook and follow @Lynn_Knights on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the postseason.
