LAKELAND, Fla. – The University of North Dakota men's tennis team captured a tough, 4-3 win over Florida Southern on Saturday afternoon to begin a stretch of five consecutive matches in the Sunshine State.
 
UND (5-5) won the doubles point and three singles matches to hold off the Mocs (3-6) for its second straight 4-3 victory and to move back to .500 on the season.
 
In doubles play, the Fighting Hawks posted victories on the No. 2 and No. 3 courts to rally to take a 1-0 lead in the match. At the No. 2 position, Davide Callegari and Johnnie Carmichael collected a 6-3 win and Jake Kuhlman and Chuck Tang followed with a 7-5 triumph at the third spot to seal the early point.
 
Florida Southern tied the match at one with a win on the No. 4 court before Nejc Sitar rolled to a 6-4, 6-0 win on the top position to restore the UND lead. The next four singles matches were all decided in three sets, with the Fighting Hawks and Mocs each claiming a pair.
 
Lukas Buth extended the lead to 3-1 after rallying from a 6-2 loss in the first set with a 6-1 and 6-2 scores on the No. 2 court before the Mocs answered with back-to-back wins at the No. 3 and No. 6 positions to bring the score to a 3-3 deadlock.
 
With all eyes on the fifth court, Callegari clinched the match for the second straight contest with a three-set triumph. After falling in the first frame, 6-4, Callegari responded with a 7-5 win of his own to send the match to a tiebreaker. There, UND came out victorious with a 6-3 victory to seal the match for the Hawks.
 
North Dakota returns to action on Sunday afternoon with a showdown at Stetson starting at 1 p.m.