The impressive season for the Fort Valley State University (FVSU) Men’s Tennis Team came to an end on Saturday, April 28th after a loss in the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Regional Play-offs to the Tigers of the University West Alabama (UWA). The play-offs were held on the campus of the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida at the Ralph “Skeeter” Carson Tennis Complex. The ninth ranked Wildcats fell in the first match of the tournament (5-0) to the eighth ranked Tigers.
In doubles play, UWA’s Nestor Vargas and Adam Drysdale defeated FVSU’s Terrance Jenkins and Brandon Pringle 8-3. Despite a gallant effort by Kelvin Oliver and Joshua Turner, the Wildcats lost the second doubles match 8-5 to Anton Ivanov and Kike Ruis. The same was true for the FVSU duo of Dwayne White and James Hernandez who fell to Manuel Grossman and Honorio Fernandez of UWA 9-7.
With only two wins in singles needed to take the match, the Tigers advanced after wins by Ivanov over White (6-1, 6-0) and Drysdale over Turner (6-0, 6-1)
The Wildcats conclude the 2012 season as the SIAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions. “I am extremely proud of the guys, said Head Coach Willie Foster. While we rejoice in our success at the conference level, our effort continues to become one of the most dominate teams in our region.”