Men's tennis team finishes third at national tournament

The Eastern Florida State College men's tennis team placed third in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament on Thursday at Collin College in Plano, Texas.

The finish matched the best finish in program history as the third time that an Eastern Florida State College team has placed third in the national tournament.

The No. 2 doubles team of Johan Mottlau and Filip Sormaz brought home a national title, winning the championship with a straight sets win over Pratt's Pratt's Kenta Kawada and Thiofhi Tshivhase in straight sets to win the title and become the second doubles team in program history to win a national championship.

"I am excited for Johan and Filip for winning the National Championship!! I am so proud of them and know that they are outstanding young men as well as I had the privilege of coaching them in the fall. So happy for both of them," Eastern Florida State College Associate Vice President of Athletics Jeff Carr said.

Pablo Garcia was in the championship final at No. 3 singles as the No. 6 seed's run ended with a runner-up finish as he fell to the No. 1 seed, Kenta Kawada from Pratt Community College.

Garcia got off to a fast start but Kawada battled back to win the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6.

Garcia could not get back on track and fell 6-2 in the second set. The sophomore was the No. 6 seed in the tournament and defeated both the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the tournament to reach the finals.

The No. 1 doubles team of Fernando Martinez and Salva Mulet also finished in second place as they lost in the final, 6-3, 6-4 to Pratt's Sam Dineen and Kenneth Rabinad Vila.

The Titans did win a pair of consolation final matches on Thursday.

Mottlau came back from being down 5-4 to defeat Weatherford's Andres Serrano 8-5 and claim the title. Mottlau finished the tournament 2-1, rebounding from a quarterfinals loss to win the consolation title.

Tomas Kurz Cardozo dominated on Thursday, winning the consolation final 8-1 against USC Sumter's Andrew Griffith. Cardozo also went 2-1 in the tournament after losing in the quarterfinals.

The doubles team of Cordozo and Pablo Garcia lost in the consolation finals, 8-5.

The team finished with five All-Americans which is a program record and just the third national championship in school history.

"This doubles national championship reflects the grit and competitive spirit of our men's tennis team," said Eastern Florida State College President Dr. Jim Richey. "Facing one of the most rigorous tournaments in the country, our student-athletes rose to the challenge and proved they belong at the very top of NJCAA Division I tennis. We are incredibly proud of their perseverance, teamwork, and the way they represented our college in Plano. Congratulations to Coach Nick Rosatti and the entire team. Go Titans!"