CLEMSON, S.C. – Spencer Whitaker and the Clemson men’s tennis team (8-2) came up clutch and defeated FAU (5-6) 4-2 on Friday afternoon at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility.
“It was definitely a battle today,” said Head Coach Robbie Weiss. “A battle against ourselves and a battle against a tough FAU team. Our doubles was dreadful today, but the boys responded well in singles. We had to dig deep to pull that win out, and I am proud of the team for finding a way. Spencer did a fantastic job coming back from 2-5 down in the 3rd set and down two match points to clinch the team win. Good things happen when you scratch and claw your way back like Spencer did. Matt was a beast in singles, and Jorge did well after a slow start in singles. Excited for the opportunity to play a top-25 team in Northwestern on Sunday.”
The Tigers and Owls competed at a high level from the first serve, but FAU was able to get off to a quick head start, claiming a 6-2 win on Court 3 in doubles. Shortly after the Owl’s line one doubles pair secured the doubles point for FAU, leaving Max Smith and Jorge Plans Gonzalez’s 5-4 lead unfinished on Court 2.
Matt Pitts put matters into his own hands on Court 4, making quick work of FAU’s Graca by a score of 6-1, 6-2. The match continued to go back and forth as the Owls took the match on Court 6 6-4, 6-4 right before Ryuhei Azuma went on to secure his line one match, dropping the first set 6-3 and then winning the next two 6-0, 6-0. Plans Gonzalez overcame a comeback of his own on Court 2, surviving a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 thriller, giving the Tigers a 3-2 lead. Whitaker dug deep and faced two match points down 5-2 to win the third set 7-5 and ultimately the match, 4-2.
The Tigers will be back home at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility on Sunday, Feb. 19 at noon to battle No. 22 Northwestern. The match will be played indoors and is free to the public.
For complete coverage of the Clemson men’s tennis team follow @ClemsonMTennis on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
