March 15, 2013
THE FLATS – Juan Melian knocked off the 89th-ranked player in the nation on court 1, but 28th-ranked Florida State won the doubles point and three of the first four singles matched to finish and defeated the Yellow Jackets, 4-3, in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
FSU completed an undefeated spring break trip and improved to 13-3. No. 63 Tech fell to 7-7 and travels to No. 70 Miami for a 12 noon match Sunday.
Melian, a senior from Las Palmas, Spain, won the marquee singles match in a third-set tiebreaker, taking down No. 89 Dominic Cotrone,, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8).
The Seminoles, however, had the match in hand by that time. FSU battled to win the doubles point when 22nd-ranked Benjamin Lock and Andres Bucaro outlasted Nathan Rakitt and Juan Melian, 9-7, on court one in the deciding match. Spir and Eduardo Segura won on court 2, 8-2, over Anderson Reed and Jordan Kelly-Houston, for the Tech’s only doubles victory Friday.
Spir tied the match with a quick, 6-2, 6-1 victory on court 2 over Lock, but the Seminoles reeled off consecutive straight-set wins on courts 6, 5 and 3 to put away the match. Michael Rinaldi downed Colin Edward, 6-1, 6-0, and Reed defeated Anish Sharma, 6-1, 6-2 before Kelly-Houston finished off Segura, 6-4, 7-5 for the clinching point.
Meanwhile, Rakitt earned a 7-6, 6-2 win on court 4 for his team-leading 17th singles win of the year, matching Melian’s total.
#28 Florida State 4, #63 Georgia Tech 3
Mar 15, 2013 at Ken Byers Tennis Center, Atlanta, Ga.
Singles competition
1. Juan Melian (GT) def. #89 Dominic Cotrone (FS) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8)
2. #53 Juan Spir (GT) def. Benjamin Lock (FS) 6-2, 6-1
3. Jordan Kelly-Houston (FS) def. Eduardo Segura (GT) 6-4, 7-5
4. Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Blake Davis (FS) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
5. Anderson Reed (FS) def. Anish Sharma (GT) 6-1, 6-2
6. Michael Rinaldi (FS) def. Colin Edwards (GT) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #22 Benjamin Lock/Andres Bucaro (FS) def. Juan Melian/Nathan Rakitt (GT) 9-7
2. Juan Spir/Eduardo Segura (GT) def. Anderson Reed/Jordan Kelly-Houston (FS) 8-2
3. Blake Davis/Dominic Cotrone (FS) def. Colin Edwards/Garrett Gordon (GT) 8-0
Match Notes:
Florida State 13-3, 1-0; National ranking #28
Georgia Tech 7-7, 0-1; National ranking #63
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,6,5,3,4,1)
First men’s outdoor match at Byers Tennis Complex
T-3:30 A-300
