Florida State men's tennis looks to continue unlikely NCAA Tournament run at Tennessee

The Florida State men's tennis team didn't stay down for long.

Last year, the Seminoles finished 10-16, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.

This year, the FSU men bounced back, returning to the tournament as the No. 28 ranked team. Their success didn't stop there, though, as they went on the road to Athens, Ga. last weekend and knocked off No. 11 seed Georgia to advance to the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 2009 and just the fourth time in program history.

"Georgia is one of the better programs in the country. They've won a bunch of national titles and it's always a hard place to play, they have a great crowd. I thought with a very young team to go in there and to come from behind being down 3-1 and winning 4-3, I thought was a great effort," FSU head coach Dwayne Hultquist said.

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"It shows where our guys are headed...Really proud of the team effort that we had."

Now, FSU will look to advance to NCAA Quarterfinals for just the second time in program history. FSU advanced to the quarterfinals in 2005 before falling to rival Florida.

The Seminoles are set to take on No. 6 seed Tennessee in Knoxville Saturday at 4 p.m. A streaming video broadcast of the match will be available on TennisONE's website and app on mobile devices.

"I think for several days we were still reliving the moment, what happened, the big win. Now, it's time to get ready for Tennessee," Hultquist said.

"We know they're a really good team. Previously, they've been at one stage No. 1 in the country this year, currently ranked fifth. Let's get ready for that. Let's get ready for another moment. Let's make sure we play this match to the best of our abilities and be ready to go again, ready to compete for a really long day."

Sebastian Arcila gets special moment

As a fifth-year senior using his COVID year of eligibility to return for the 2021-22 season, Sebastian Arcila has seen a lot around the FSU tennis program.

The Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico native has been a part of 86 team wins and recorded 83 total victories himself (38 singles and 45 doubles). But he saved perhaps the most special victory of his career for his final run as a Seminole.

After FSU won on courts five and six at UGA to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 3-3 tie, it all came down to Arcila.

Arcila was playing on the third line, where he hadn't won yet this season with an 0-3 record, and had to do so against a strong opponent in UGA's Trent Bryde, who ranked 109th nationally.

After Arcila lost the first set 5-7 and evened the match by taking the second set 6-4, he found himself up against the wall a few times in the deciding third set.

He had his serve broken early in the third set, falling behind 4-2. He kept battling, but Bryde led 5-4 in the set and had team match point with the Seminoles one point away from seeing their season end.

Through this, he again showed resiliency, winning the final three games from there to win the final set 7-5 and clinch the match for the Seminoles.

"To get that opportunity to clinch against Georgia to go to the Sweet 16 in 13 years, it's a moment I'll never forget..." Arcila said.

"To have the opportunity to be the last one, playing a friend of mine, Trent Bryde, it was a great moment...Whenever the hard work pays off, it's always a great feeling."

Freshmen rising to the occasion

A notable part of FSU's quick turnaround from last year's disappointment to this year's run can definitely be attributed to the Seminoles' freshman class.

The Seminoles' 2021 recruiting class was ranked as the best in the country by TennisRecruiting.net. This group's impact has definitely lived up to the billing.

Lyon, France native Joshua Dous Karpenschif has posted a 19-12 singles record as a true freshman, playing between the second and sixth lines in singles. He's also established himself as one half of FSU's top doubles team with redshirt freshman Maks Silagy, posting a 19-9 record.

True freshman Youcef Rihane, who hails from Algeria, has a 15-7 singles record in his first season with the Seminoles.

Dous Karpenschif and Silagy won at the fifth and sixth lines in FSU's match at Georgia, starting the comeback which Arcila completed.

While players like Arcila have provided senior leadership and sophomore Loris Pourroy has established himself as the Seminoles' clear No. 1 singles option, three of FSU's six singles spots vs. UGA were held by freshmen, either true or redshirt.

"They've exceeded my expectations for real. They've stepped up to the tough moments incredibly well," Arcila said of the freshmen.

"They've shown a lot of maturity in areas that most freshmen, it takes them a few years to get to where they are. I'm really excited for the future of FSU tennis and very happy with their performance this year."

NCAA Tournament Round of 16

Florida State at No. 6 Tennessee

When: Saturday, 4 p.m.

Where: Goodfriend Tennis Center, Knoxville, Tennessee

TV: TennisONE (Website or app)

Reach Curt Weiler at cweiler@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @CurtMWeiler.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU tennis hoping to keep NCAA Tournament run going in Sweet 16