WHITEWATER, Wisc. – The No. 23 TCNJ men's tennis team once again came close to upending No. 17 Wisconsin-Whitewater in a conference championship match, but the 17
th-ranked Warhawks had just enough to hold on for a 5-2 victory in Saturday's WIAC final.
Matthew Michibata accounted for both points for the Lions, who fell to Whitewater for the third consecutive season. The Warhawks clinched the WIAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, while TCNJ will hope for an at-large bid.
FOR THE RECORD
- TCNJ fell to 14-3 overall, while Whitewater upped its mark to 18-3
DOUBLES
- Whitewater grabbed a quick lead with an 8-3 win at No. 3, and doubled it with a hard-fought 8-6 win for Drew Van Fossen and Theo Billson against Brett Schuster and Alberto Thomas at No. 2
- Michibata and Harrison Maitland-Carter gave the Lions a chance, claiming an 8-7 (5) tiebreaker on their third match point at No. 1 to get the visitors on the board
SINGLES
- Michibata scored an impressive 6-3, 6-3 victory over Luke VanDonslear at No. 1
- Whitewater countered with a straight-set win at No. 3 and a three-set win for Van Fossen over Maitland-Carter at No. 5
- Billson clinched the title with a 7-6 (7), 6-2 defeat of Alberto Thomas at No. 4
- Schuster trailed 4-3 in the third set at No. 6 when the clinching point took place, while Adrian Tsui was on serve at 5-6 in the second set after dropping the first at No. 2
UP NEXT
- The Lions await a possible at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament when the bracket is revealed during a selection show Monday at 12:30 PM on ncaa.com
