WashU Advances To Regional Final With 4-2 Win Over Kalamazoo
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.