(Portions of this story courtesy of Trinity University)
CLAREMONT, Calif. - The eighth-ranked Trinity men's tennis team upset second-ranked Washington (MO) University 5-1 in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Monday afternoon.
The Tigers improve their season record to 25-6 on the year, winning for the 11th consecutive time dating back to an April 5Tthmatch against Division I University of Incarnate Word. The Bears dropped to 21-3 on the year.
Charlie Curtis vaulted Trinity into the NCAA Semifinals with a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 6 singles. It marks the first appearance in the semifinals since 2000, when the Tigers won the NCAA Division III Championship.
Washington opened the match with the first team point of the day, taking the top line of doubles 8-6. Trinity rallied with wins in the next two doubles matches, as the teams of Jordan Mayer/Greg Haugen and Charlie Curtis/Clayton Neiss won 8-6 and 9-7 in a pair of close contests.
Trinity carried its momentum into singles, taking the opening set in five of the six matches to take control of the competition. Aaron Skinner was the first to finish in straight sets at line four, putting the Tigers ahead 3-1. After Skinner's win, both Haugen and Curtis finished within minutes of one another to close out the win.
In tomorrow's NCAA Semifinals, Trinity will take on Amherst (Mass.) College at 11:00 a.m. on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.
