(Story Courtesy of Trinity University Sports Information Department)
CLAREMONT, Calif. – No. 8 Trinity University Men's Tennis defeated Concordia University (TX) in a lopsided 5-1 match in their first round of the NCAA III Championship tournament on Friday afternoon.
The Tigers (17-6) took a 2-1 advantage after doubles play to put themselves in a good position for the remainder of the match. Senior Alessio Azzalini and first-year Rafa Candelas Ruiz started the scoring off with their 8-5 win from line two.
The junior duo of Rob Chang and Dalton Locke followed suit shortly after with an identical 8-5 victory from line three doubles. The first-line pairing of senior Hao Nguyen and sophomore Eric Liao were narrowly edged out in a 7-4 tiebreaker in line one to give Concordia what turned out to be their only point of the match.
Liao brought momentum back for Trinity with his early straight-set singles win from line three, posting a pair of 6-1 marks. Junior Rob Chang posted an identical score from line six to be just one point away from the clinch. Candelas Ruiz wrapped the match up with his 6-3, 6-1 victory from line five to push the Tigers into the next round of the tournament.
Up Next:
No. 8 Trinity Men's Tennis will face the regional host, No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, in their match tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Central Time. The winner of tomorrow's match will advance to the NCAA III Quarterfinals which are set to be played on May 13.