Simmons and Riano Rojas won at No. 3 doubles and he also battled at No. 5 singles (PHOTO BY Denise Archetto/Stonehill Athletics)

Skyhawks fall in spring opener, right back on the courts Monday

SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 6, 2022) – Eckerd College dealt Stonehill College its first defeat of the 2021-22 season with a 7-0 decision in the Skyhawks spring opener at Bullard Courts this afternoon. 

Highlights

• Sophomores Pierre-Olivier Lassalle and Prakrut Patel led four double-winners for Eckerd in the victory, combining for a win at No. 1 doubles and then adding decisions at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively.
• Freshmen Christian Kearns  and Arthur De Souza Fonseca were also double-winners for the Tritons, clinching the doubles point with their win at No. 2 and then adding singles wins at No. 5 and No. 3 singles.
• Senior Juan Camilo Riano Rojas and junior Ben Simmons earned a win for Stonehill in the match, posting a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles.

How it Happened

• Eckerd clinched the doubles point by winning two of the three matches to start. Fonseca and Kearns provided the point clincher with their decision at No. 2 against the Stonehill tandem of junior Luke Nickerson and freshman Guillaume Duhil de Benaze.
• Riano Rojas and Simmons forced the point to go the distance in doubles play, earning a win at No. 3 doubles for Stonehill with their 6-4 victory over Eckerd freshmen Eric Asakura and Arik Suez.
• Eckerd swept the six singles matches to close out the match win.
• Simmons battled at No. 5 singles for the Skyhawks, taking Kearns to a tiebreaker in the first set, before the Eckerd freshman closed out the match with a 6-0 second set.
• Riano Rojas also fought at No. 4 singles for the Skyhawks against Asakura, being edged 7-5 in the first set and then falling 6-1 in the second.

Up Next

Stonehill (4-1, 0-0 NE10) is right back on the courts tomorrow, when it faces Augustana (S.D.) University at Oak Street Park in Kissimmee, Florida, at 3 p.m. The Skyhawks next home match is their scheduled Northeast-10 Conference opener against Assumption University on Saturday, March 19, at noon. Eckerd (2-5, 0-3 SSC) hosts Walsh (Ohio) University on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

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