GEORGETOWN, Texas -- Top-seeded and 18th-ranked Southwestern University advanced to the title match of the Southern College Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Championship with a 5-1 semifinal victory over fifth-seeded University of St. Thomas Saturday afternoon at the Marvin D. Henderson Sr. Tennis Courts on the campus of Southwestern. Official Website l Postmatch Interview | Photo Album
With the victory, Southwestern improves to 18-5 and will play Trinity University in tomorrow's championship match. First serve is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT.
St. Thomas falls to 5-8 and will take on Colorado College in tomorrow's third-place match. That contest is scheduled for 9 a.m. at Round Rock High School.
The doubles matches were competitive as Southwestern's Sebastian Herrera and Steven Tibbetts gave the Pirates an early 1-0 lead with their 8-1 victory at No. 3 but UST's top line of Rodrigo Yoshikata and Jace Ware bounced the region's seventh-ranked doubles squad of Oscar Roy and Ashton Ellis, 8-3, to even the match at 1 point apiece. In what proved to be a big momentum swing, SU's Bernado Clemente and Parth Patel earned an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles and gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead heading into singles play.
Southwestern's Ryan Flanagan swept to a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 5 singles and his teammate Anton Borovik followed with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 6 to get the Pirates within a point of the victory. Oscar Roy bounced back from his earlier doubles disappointment and provided the clinching point for Southwestern, defeating UST's Race Haas, 7-6, 6-1, to send the Pirates to the SCAC final for the eighth straight year.
#18 SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 5, UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS 1
April 29, 2023 at Georgetown, Texas (Marvin D. Henderson Sr. Tennis Courts)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Bernado Clemente (SU) vs. Rodrigo Yoshikata (UST) 2-6, 6-3, 2-1, unfinished |
| 2. Steven Tibbetts (SU) vs. Tyler Head (UST) 6-4, 5-4, unfinished |
| 3. Oscar Roy (SU) def. Race Haas (UST) 7-6, 6-1 |
| 4. Ashton Ellis (SU) vs. Jace Ware (UST) 6-1, 4-6, unfinished |
| 5. Ryan Flanagan (SU) def. Hunter Kemball Cook (UST) 6-0, 6-0 |
| 6. Anton Borovik (SU) def. Carson Steele (UST) 6-0, 6-1 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Rodrigo Yoshikata/Jace Ware (UST) def. Oscar Roy/Ashton Ellis (SU) 8-3 |
| 2. Bernado Clemente/Parth Patel (SU) def. Tyler Head/Race Haas (UST) 8-5 |
| 3. Sebastian Herrera/Steven Tibbetts (SU) def. Carson Steele/Hunter Kemball Cook (UST) 8-1 |
| Match Notes |
| St. Thomas (Tex.) 5-8 |
| Southwestern (Tex.) 18-5; National ranking #18; Regional ranking #4 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,6,3) |
UP NEXT
Southwestern advances to play Trinity University in tomorrow's championship match, scheduled for 10 am CT. First serve is scheduled for Noon CT. This will be the eighth straight year the two have played for the SCAC men's title with Trinity winning each of the previous seven. Southwestern did defeat Trinity, 5-4, in their only regular season meeting this season on April 14.
