ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- After a long rain delay, No. 1 West Florida finally began play at the NCAA Division II championships at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday evening at Sanlando Park. The Argonauts defeated Edinboro 5-0 in the Round of 16 to advance to the national quarterfinals on Thursday.
“It was great to get the win today,” UWF head coach Derrick Racine said. “We didn’t know if we would be playing today with the weather. It was good to get this one in and get back to the hotel to rest.”
UWF made quick work of Edinboro in doubles play, dropping only three combined games in the three different matches. The No. 3 ranked doubles team of Bruno Savi and Tony Rajaobelina finished first, winning 8-2 against Matias Aignasse and Juan Estepa at the No. 1 spot. Domenico Sano and Elio Latella then clinched their 8-1 win against James Cooper and Thomas Pellegrino at No. 3 doubles. Finally, Alex Peyrot and Felipe Frattini shut out Bruno Borja and Brandon Romain 8-0 at the No. 2 spot to clinch the doubles sweep for the Argos.
The bottom of the lineup took care of business for UWF in singles, as the Argonauts clinched the 5-0 victory with wins at the No. 5 and 6 spots. Felipe Frattini and Elio Latella both won in consecutive sets, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. Frattini finished first at No. 5, and his win came against Brandon Romain. Latella had the clinching win at No. 6 over Raffaele Fusulan.“Both Felipe and Elio came through with big victories,” Racine said. “They seem to be playing really well, which is what we need. If we have the bottom of the lineup going strong, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”
The Argos are scheduled to face No. 17 Midwestern State in the national quarterfinals on Thursday. Midwestern State defeated No. 13 UC San Diego 5-0 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals.
“We haven’t played Midwestern State in a few years, but they always have a strong, well-coached team,” Racine explained. “It’s going to be a tough match.”
