(Story courtesy of Trinity University Athletics)
RICHARDSON, Texas – The Trinity men's tennis team opened up the NCAA Playoffs with a 5-1 Second Round victory over Concordia (TX) University on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers took two out of three doubles matches to take the early lead, then earned three straight singles wins to clinch the match. Trinity advances to face either Southwestern University or Stevens Institute (NJ) of Technology in tomorrow's Third Round.
The Rundown
Doubles began with the top line team of Christian Settles and Hao Nguyen taking a commanding 5-0 lead, then earning the first point of the day with an 8-1 decision.
Wilson Hamilton and Alessio Azzalini took the first three points at line three, which also ended in an 8-1 Tiger victory and a 2-0 match lead.
Jordan Pitts and Cameron Krimbill made Concordia work for the final doubles point, batting back from a 6-1 deficit to extend the match. The Trinity duo eventually lost 8-5, but the team still held a 2-1 advantage heading into singles action.
As he did in the SCAC Championship match two weeks ago, Settles was the first singles match off the court after taking a 6-3, 6-1 line six victory to make it a 3-1 Tiger lead.
Azzalini was off the court shortly after with a 6-2, 6-2, win at #2 singles, then Hamilton clinched the match with a win at line four. Hamilton held on for a tough 7-5 win in the opening set, then breezed to the finish with a 6-2 win.
Notables
Settles improves his season record to 12-5 in singles this season, while Settles and Nguyen are now 14-7 in doubles and have won five straight matches.
Hamilton improved to 11-7 in singles, while Azzalini is now 6-5 this season. The Tiger duo won their first match of the season as a doubles team in today's action.
Coach Speak
"Today was an exciting day, being back in the NCAA Tournament and I was pleased with how it went," said Head Coach Russell McMindes. "Concordia really played a great match, competed well, and have a good team over there. They had been trending in a positive direction the second half of the season, so I'm glad our guys were able to bring it today to get the job done. This also allowed some of the guys who haven't had the NCAA Playoff experience before to play under stress and still perform well. This was the perfect match to get us ready for the next round. We will build on this one and go out there to get it done tomorrow."
Up Next
Trinity will take on the winner of Southwestern and Stevens, which will be played Saturday afternoon. The NCAA Third Round Playoff match is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 16.
