Men's Tennis Advances to Prestigious ITA National Team Indoor Championships

Sunday, January 27

Tallahassee, Fla.

10 AM

Tulane University

Florida State

Photo by: Parker Waters

Men's Tennis Advances to Prestigious ITA National Team Indoor Championships

Jan 27, 2019 | Men's Tennis

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - For the second straight day, the Tulane men's tennis team defeated a top 20 opponent, as the Green Wave took down No. 19 Florida State on its home courts by a 4-2 count on Sunday at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center.

With the win over the Seminoles, Tulane advances to the 2019 ITA National Team Indoor Championships - which will take place Feb. 14-17 in Chicago - for the first time in the 45-year history of the tournament.

"I'm so pumped for these guys and I'm so proud of the way that they competed on both days," director of tennis and head coach Mark Booras said. "We had a very tough draw, playing two top 20 teams on the road, but the thing I am most proud of is the way that they just stuck with it the whole day.

"Yesterday, things looked bad in the beginning then we turned it around then things got even again and then we turned it around, but we just kept believing and today was almost the same exact same thing. We started slow, we turned it around. Then they started to come back, then we started to turn it around again, and I think that showed a lot of maturity by our guys."

Tulane's win over host Florida State came less than 24 hours after the Green Wave defeated 18th-ranked Tennessee by a 4-2 count.

"We''ve been talking about this for a number of years and to see it come to fruition on a stage like this was very reassuring to me as a head coach, and I'm just so excited for the boys," Booras said.

Tulane's win over the nationally-ranked Seminoles did not come easy, as the Green Wave had to fight from behind again after they dropped the the doubles point.

Florida State extended its lead to 2-0 over Tulane after junior and 42nd-ranked Luis Erlendbusch fell in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, on court two. The Green Wave would respond in a big way as sophomore Harnish Stewart, junior Dane Esses and senior and 58th-ranked Tyler Schick each posted wins to give Tulane a 3-2 edge.

Junior Ewan Moore would eventually earn the clinching point for the after he battled back from losing the first set to defeat Aziz Dougaz in the No. 1 position.

"Ewan's done a great job at the top of lineup" Booras said. "We had some questions after we've lost our No. 1 player, but we've watch guys step up and this year we have several guys step up, which is great. Ewan has received that chance at the No. 1 spot and he has embraced it."

Tulane returns to action on Feb. 1 as it welcomes LSU to the City Park Tennis Center with first serve set for 2 p.m.

Tulane 4, #19 Florida State 2

Singles competition
1. Ewan Moore (TLN) def. Aziz Dougaz (FS) 4-6, 6-4, 5-2, retired
2. Lucas Poullain (FS) def. #42 Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) 6-2, 6-4
3. Hamish Stewart (TLN) def. Alex Knaff (FS) 6-1, 6-4
4. Dane Esses (TLN) def. Richard Thongoana (FS) 6-4, 6-3
5. #58 Tyler Schick (TLN) def. #84 Rana Roop Bhullar (FS) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
6. Chase Wood (FS) vs. #125 Tim Ruetzel (TLN) 2-6, 6-0, 3-3, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Aziz Dougaz/Alex Knaff (FS) def. Hamish Stewart/Ewan Moore (TLN) 6-2
2. Lucas Poullain/Sebastian Arcila (FS) vs. Luis Erlenbusch/Tyler Schick (TLN) 4-5, unfinished
3. Chase Wood/Richard Thongoana (FS) def. Akos Kotorman/Tim Ruetzel (TLN) 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,3,4,5)

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