GRANVILLE, Ohio – Winning the doubles point became crucial as the No. 13 Washington University in St. Louis men's tennis team advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional final on Sunday with a 4-2 win over No. 28 Kalamazoo on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead, winning the first two doubles matches. Senior
Colin Scruggs teamed up with first-year
Ethan Wu to claim the win at number three doubles over Sebastian Courtright and Tieran Rafferty.
Another senior/first-year duo,
Colin Fox and
Jeremy Sieben, ranked No. 10 in the latest ITA poll, clinched the doubles point with their 6-3 win at number one doubles over Cameron Crosby and Alex Fleming.
Junior
Nathan Tam and sophomore
Drew Koval were leading 5-2 when the match was halted due to the point being won.
Sieben put the Bears up 2-0 with his 6-0, 6-2 win over Fleming at number two singles. The Hornets then got on the board when Crosby picked up a win over No. 24 Scruggs at the top spot.
Sophomore
Avi Mahajan put WashU one match away from advancing with his 7-5, 6-0 win over Will Seymour at number four singles. Not going away quickly, Derek Blackwell won over Fox at number three singles 6-1, 7-6 (3), pulling Kalamazoo back within one at 3-2.
After winning his first set, 6-1 at number five singles, Tam dropped his second set, 7-5. In a tight back-and-forth third set, Tam clinched the win for the Bears, winning it 6-3 as WashU claimed the 4-2 win over the Hornets.
First-year
Spencer Yamamoto was leading Haresh Anand 4-6, 6-2, 3-2 when the match was stopped.
WashU advances to the regional final on Sunday, May 10, when they face No. 3 host Denison at 12 p.m. ET. The Big Red claimed a 4-3 win over the Bears back on Feb. 7 at the Vetta Sunset Tennis Center in St. Louis.
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