The Florida A&M men’s tennis team took on University of South Florida, Saturday in Tampa, losing 7-0.
Levan Clark, a junior from Orlando, opened up the singles against USF losing his first set with a score of 6-4, winning his second set 2-6 and losing the deciding set 10-5.
Sophomore Childi Gabriel lost his first set 6-1, came back and took his second set 4-6. His run ended in his last set 6-1.
“Playing against strong competitors is helping us out for the long run,” said Gabriel. “Things didn’t go in our favor today, but that’s how the game goes sometimes. We gave it our all in practice and we will continue to do the same every time we compete.”
Maurice Wamokowa had a grueling match against USF’s Federico Sabogal, losing 6-2 and 6-0.
Senior Michael Moore, a three-year starter from New York, also went down in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-1.
“Overall as a team we played extremely well,” said Marc Atkinson. “We just didn’t finish with a ‘W’.”
Clark and Gabriel, two players who were Top 100 in the MEAC, played well in their doubles match against USF but didn’t finish with a win. Coach Carl Goodman said that these two players, along with two others, could possibly place in the Top 100 in the nation in doubles if they continue to put in the necessary effort required.
The other two doubles matches were also unsuccessful, which was a concern Goodman brought up after the team’s previous match against the University of North Florida.
“I believe that our efforts in this week’s doubles were a lot better,” said Goodman. “However we still need to work on our communication and execution.”
Goodman set up an intense, rigorous schedule this year for his team with the goal of finishing the season strong. The Rattlers have experienced two losses against the top 60 tennis teams in the nation.
Goodman said this would give his players an opportunity to play against the best. Develop learn, and gain a competitive edge in the HBCU division.
“Despite this weekend’s loss and the loss we experienced last weekend, I am proud of our efforts,” said Goodman. “We are getting stronger as a team and showing the top Division 1 schools what FAMU is made of.”
The FAMU men’s tennis team claimed their first win against Florida Gulf Coast University on Sunday with a final score of 6-1 after Saturdays disappointing lost.
The Rattlers successfully won all of their double matches taking that momentum into the singles winning five out of six.
The Rattlers plan to stay focused on the season’s No. 1 goal: Defending their MEAC championship.