Charlottesville, Va.- The University of Pennsylvania men's tennis team dropped its ITA Kickoff Weekend opening match, 4-3, against Florida Atlantic Saturday morning.

Although the Quakers were able to secure the doubles point with wins at No.2 from Matthew Rutter and Baylor Sai and at No. 3 from Kian Vakili and Aaron Sandler, it was not enough to hold onto the lead.

In singles action, the Owls' Mark Havlicek knocked off Parashar Bharadwaj at No.5 in straight sets to tie the match at 1-1. Sandler then picked up a victory at the No. 3 spot, to give the edge back to the Quakers. Florida Atlantic won the next two matches at No. 2 and No. 1 with close battles against Manfredi Graziani and Vakili.

Rutter was able to grab the second singles victory of the day for Penn at the No. 6 slot as he took down Kurt Miller in three sets.

The Owls were able to secure the match with a win at No.4 where Juan Martin Jalif defeated Baylor Sai.

Throughout the young season, the Duo of Vakili and Sandler who rank No. 56 according to the ITA, are 3-0. While Sandler and Rutter are 2-1 in singles competition.

Up Next
Penn will be back in action tomorrow morning for day two of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Quakers will face Northern Arizona at 10:00 a.m. in Charlottesville, in the consolation portion of the tournament bracket.


DOUBLES
1. Jiri Jenicek / Simon Myslivec (FAU) def. Manfredi Graziani / Zachery Lim (P) 6-4
2. #56 Aaron Sandler / Kian Vakili (P) def. Alberto Colas /Juan Martin Jalif (FAU) 6-3
3. Baylor Sai / Matthew Rutter (P) def. Joao Graca / Mark Havlicek (FAU) 6-2

SINGLES
1. Alberto Colas (FAU) def. Manfredi Graziani (P) 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2)
2. Jiri Jenicek (FAU) def. Kian Vakili (P) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
3. Aaron Sandler (P) def. Joao Graca (FAU) 2-6, 6-0, 6-4
4. Juan Martin Jalif (FAU) def. Baylor Sai (P) 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2
5. Mark Havlicek (FAU) def. Parashar Bharadwaj (P) 6-4, 6-3
6. Matthew Rutter (P) def. Kurt Miller (FAU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2