Men's tennis players earn rankings in ITA junior college rankings

Members of the Eastern Florida State College men's tennis team will begin the spring season among the best in junior college tennis.

The latest ITA Oracle College Junior College Tennis Rankings show five singles players in the top 50 in the nation and the No. 1 doubles team of Frederik Oervad and Nils Michel are No. 6 in the nation.

Oervad, a freshman from Denmark, is No. 5 in the rankings which is the highest in program history for a men's tennis player. Oervad had a solid fall season, finishing second in the ITA Regional Championship in Tifton, Ga. to qualify for the ITA Cup where he placed eighth.

Also in the top 20 are sophomores Nils Michel and Adriel Azucey who are Nos. 14 and 15 respectively in the rankings. Both helped the men's tennis team to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament for the first time last season. Sophomore Fabricio Galvan is No. 26 in the rankings while teammate Nicholas Mora is No. 46.

"We are a relatively new tennis program so to have this many Titans earn national rankings is a strong step forward," Eastern Florida State College assistant men's tennis coach Brandon Stokes said. "It shows that diligence and the right recruiting by head coach Bobby Cashman the past year and half is working. Combine the talent with taking the time to develop on and off the court to be the best we can be each day, then results like these are just the beginning."

The men's tennis team will open the spring season on Jan. 18 at Flagler College. The home opener will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 against The Citadel at Titan Tennis Center.