The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team opened up a week of tennis in the Sunshine State on Monday. The Crusaders dropped the first match of their spring break trip 6-1 to Florida Atlantic, winning the doubles point in the defeat in Boca Raton, Fla.

How It Happened

• The Crusaders (2-7) clinched the doubles point when Daniel Langston (Ponca City, Okla. / Ponca City) and Gabriel Carvajal (Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Broward Virtual School [Florida Atlantic]) pulled out a 7-6(4) victory over Thomas Guy and Anthony Schohn.
• That came after Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio / Poland) and Kweisi Kenyatte (Detroit, Mich. / East English Village Preparatory) got the job done at the top doubles spot, defeating Remi Chancerel and Gabriel Sidney 6-4.
• Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) and Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill. / Rockford Christian) fell in their No. 2 singles match with Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia, a pair ranked 49^th nationally.
• The Owls (10-5) won on all six singles courts, with the closest match taking place at No. 3, where Ancona forced a third set against Gabriel Sidney after the two players split the first two sets. Ancona eventually dropped a tight third, 11-9 in the final match to finish.

Inside the Match

• Gardner’s doubles win marked the 64^th of his career, moving him past Nick Vuko (1998-2002) and into sole possession of fifth in program history. The top five players in program history in career doubles wins are now all members of both the 2016 and 2017 NCAA Tournament teams – Gardner and the four seniors from last season.
• Gardner and Kenyatte advanced to 11-5 as a pair this season and 3-1 at No. 1 doubles. They share the team lead with 12 doubles wins apiece.

Up Next

The Crusaders have a quick turnaround as they face off with Furman on Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. Central Time. The match will take place at a neutral site, Stetson’s facility in DeLand, Fla.