MADISON, N.J. – Brett Schuster and Alberto Thomas got within two points of a berth in the ITA Northeast Regional doubles championship before conceding a barn-burner to Hamilton's top tandem in a semifinal slugfest.
 
The TCNJ men's tennis standouts had already handled Hobart's Nicholas Fischer and Nick Grosso, 8-3, in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal showdown with Hamilton's Connor Griff and Antonio Jose Chavez.
 
The Lions quickly fell into a 3-0 hole and still trailed 6-3 before breaking to get back on serve. The teams traded service holds before Schuster and Thomas saved a match point at deuce at 6-7 to force the decisive tiebreak.
 
Schuster and Thomas went up, 5-3, before Griff and Chavez ran off four consecutive points to snatch a spot in Sunday's final and a berth in next month's ITA Cup.
 
The men's tennis team has concluded its fall slate and will resume competition in the spring.
 
ITA Northeast Regional
Doubles
Quarterfinals
Schuster/Thomas (TCNJ) def. Fischer/Grosso (Hobart), 8-3
 
Semifinals
Griff/Chavez (Hamilton) def. Schuster/Thomas, 8-7 (5)