WHITEWATER, Wisc. – The TCNJ men's tennis team finally got over the hump.
After five years of disappointment, the Lions broke through in a major way on Saturday, capturing their first WIAC championship in program history with a 4-2 victory at No. 28 Wisconsin-Whitewater.
The upset sends TCNJ (15-5) into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 and put and end to a streak of five consecutive campaigns that ended in the conference final, including the last four against the War Hawks.
Saturday looked like more of the same, until it wasn't. Whitewater (12-9) came out hot, rolling to 6-2 wins at first and third doubles to clinch the opening point in commanding fashion. Far from daunted, the Lions flipped the match on its head thanks to their superior depth.
Whitewater's nationally ranked number one, Theo Billson, made it 2-0 in favor of the hosts with a 6-3, 6-4 win over
Alberto Thomas, but that was as good as it would get for the hosts.
Instead, the Lions roared all the way back and had little trouble doing so. It started with
Brett Schuster's 6-2, 6-1 rout at number six singles, and
Harrison Maitland-Carter collected a massive 6-1, 6-2 win over Charles Morgan at number two.
Rookie
Faris Shehata put the Lions on the cusp by downing Carter Michaels 6-4, 6-2 at number four before
Nathan Chan clinched the championship point with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Andrew Dumbauld at number three.
NOTES
- Maitland-Carter became the eighth player in program history to reach 60 career singles wins
- Shehata has won 11 consecutive singles matches
- Schuster owns a five-match win streak at number six singles
UP NEXT
- The Lions discover their NCAA draw on Monday
