Men's tennis nets two wins at home

The Bears have been playing some good tennis lately, and their record shows it. Heading into their weekend matchup against powerhouse Wake Forest, the orange and black were 3-4 throughout the 2012 season. However, they are 2-1 in their last three matches.
Jacksonville St. 2, Mercer 5
The Bears got on the board early, taking all three doubles matches to earn the elusive doubles point. The teams of Victor Dias/Peter Tauchner, Pierre Tafelski/Dave Barton and Vincent DeLise/Joao Pagan all had hard fought matches, yet came out victorious in the end, 8-7 (7-5), 9-7, and 8-6, respectively, at one, two and three doubles. Tafelski would easily win at number one singles 6-0, 6-1, to give the Bears a 2-0 lead. Mercer would then win numbers four through six singles to secure the match, with Pagan, DeLise and Dias all winning their contests.
Florida A&M 5, Mercer 2
Mercer would not be able to capitalize on their success and would fall to the FAMU Rattlers the following Sunday 2-5. The doubles point would go to the Rattlers 1-2, with the only victory coming at the hands of Delise/Pagan at number three doubles. DeLise and Dias would again win at number five and six singles, 6-3, 7-5 and 6-3, 6-2, respectively. Tafelski would lose a close three-set match at number one single 7-5, 2-6, 2-6. The rest of the Bears’ singles would lose in straight sets.
Fort Valley St. 0, Mercer 7
The Bears would rebound against Fort Valley State, taking all nine matches, for a final score of 7-0. The number one doubles team of Tafelski/Tauchner easily won 8-2, while number two doubles (Barton/Disa) blanked their opponets 8-0. Mercer would also win at number three doubles, as Pagan/DeLise won their match 8-3. At singles, the Bears would only give up a total of six games combined to the Wildcats. Tafelski would “double bagel” his opponent at number one singles (6-0, 6-0), as did Barton and DeLise at number four and five singles, respectively. Mercer would take the final three matches in straight sets as well, with Tauchner winning 6-2, 6-1 at number two, Pagan winning 6-1, 6-2 at number three and Dias winning 6-0, 6-1.
Mercer 1, Wake Forest 6
On a road trip to play the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest, the Bears would put up a fight. The doubles point would easily go to WF, with number two and three doubles (Pagan/DeLise and Tauchner/Elbert Beekman) losing 2-8, 3-8, respectively. But the number one doubles team was out to send a message. Barton/Dias would lose a heartbreaking tiebreaker, 7-8 (7-9). At singles, the lineup was missing their usual number one player in Pierre Tafelski, but that didn’t bother Tauchner, who won at number one 6-2, 3-6, 10-7. He would be the lone Bear to win, as Pagan would fall 2-6 at number two, as would Barton at number three. Freshman sensation Vincent DeLise would lose a hard fought match 4-6, 6-2, 2-10 at number four, while Dias lost a close one 4-6, 5-7, at number six singles. Beekman lost 3-6, 0-6 at number six.
The Bears start conference on the road at FGCU on March 15. Mercer will host Belmont University on Mar. 23 for their first home conference match.