ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 15, 2017) – The Franklin Pierce University men's tennis team was defeated on Wednesday afternoon, 9-0, on the road in non-conference play at Eckerd.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 1-6, while Eckerd improves to 4-4.

Eckerd opened the day with three wins in doubles play. Franklin Pierce was at its most competitive at first doubles, where sophomore James Bisazza (West Barnstable, Mass.) and freshman Yuval Barak (Zicron Ya'akov, Israel) battled in an 8-5 loss to Eckerd junior Victor Appelqvist and sophomore Alasdair Knox.

The Tritons then rattled off six wins in singles play to finish off the sweep. At fourth singles, sophomore Marcus Lawrence (Acton, Mass.) was able to force a tiebreaker third set, but ultimately dropped a 6-3, 4-6, 10-5 decision to freshman Matt Spasic. Bisazza also put up a fight for the Ravens at first singles, where he was felled by Appelqvist, 6-4, 6-3.

The Ravens return to the court on Thursday, March 16, when they wrap up their three-match Florida swing with a non-conference contest at Eastern Florida State at 3 p.m. in Melbourne, Fla.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce tennis apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).