Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler opened up the home portion of their 2023 schedule on Sunday against Mississippi College, and the two programs would face split decisions at the Summers Tennis Center.
 
On the men's side, they would drop the doubles point to the Choctaws in a pair of tough decisions early. Jonas Dixon and Carel Wessel would pair up in the three slot, but a late comeback effort saw them fall 6-4. In the number two slot, Jordi Garcia Portell and Egor Shestakov also fought close, but the Choctaws again took the set, this time by a score of 6-3 to claim the two wins necessary for the doubles point.
 
That moved actions over to the singles portion of the match, and the Patriots got to work quickly with a win in the number two slot. Gonzalo Fernandez Gil came away with a straight sets win that featured a dominant 6-2 win in set one and then a thrilling 7-6 win in set two.
 
The Choctaws would respond with a win in slot number four to take a 2-1 lead, but the Patriots buckled in and delivered three set thrillers in both slot one and three to pull ahead. Joaquin Bianchi took slot one after dropping set number one, but then responded with a win of 6-3 and then took a thrilling tiebreaker in the third set to claim the win.
 
In that number three slot, Egor Shestakov dropped a slim tiebreaker in set one to fall behind early, but answered with two straight set wins of 7-5 to claim the win. In those second and third sets, Shestakov would trail for a total of just two games in his comeback win.
 
That set up the match for Yudai Watanabe to potentially claim the win, and he would deliver in the number six slot as he dominated his opponent to the tune of 6-1, 6-0. His win gave the Patriots the fourth and final point necessary for the win, and they move to 6-1 on the season.
 
For the Patriots women, they would fight tough all day long at Summers Tennis Center, beginning with a solid showing in doubles to move ahead 1-0.
 
In those doubles matches, Violetta Khisamova and Brooklyn Ross delivered a 6-4 win before the Choctaws evened it up with a 7-5 win in slot number one. That left the doubles point to Kanika Siviraman and Tanvikhaa Saravanan, and they came up clutch with a 7-5 win.
 
In singles, the Patriots moved ahead 2-0 in the match after Saravanan posted a strong showing with a 6-2, 6-1 win in slot two. That would be the only point to go the Patriots way in the early going however, as the Choctaws got going with wins in the one, three, and four slots.
 
Only one of those wins would be in straight sets however, as Allison Schwartz in the third slot looked strong early with a 6-2 win in set one. The Choctaws battled back in set two with a 6-3 win, but then pulled away in set three to tie up the match at 2-2.
 
In slot four it was arguably the most competitive match of the day, as Khisamova played in two different tiebreakers over her three set marathon. In set one, Mississippi College earned the 7-6 win in the tiebreaker to go ahead, but Khisamova battled right back with a 7-6 win of her own to force a big third set. In that third set the score would be dead even at 3-3, but the Choctaws pulled away late for a 6-4 win.
 
That moved the match to 3-2 in favor of Mississippi College, and suddenly the Patriots were against the wall. That left the match potentially in the hands of Siviraman in slot six. In both of her sets she would fall behind 1-0, but she came right back with set wins of 6-2 and 6-3 to even the match at 3-3.
 
The entirety of the match came down to slot number five and Akshaya Suresh would battle closely. After dropping the first set, she came roaring back in the second set and forced a tiebreaker for the match, but fell just narrowly by a score of 7-4 in that tiebreaker to give the winner to the Choctaws.
 
Both Patriots teams get a short rest before getting right back to work on Thursday and Friday as they open up Lone Star Conference action against UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico. Both of those matches will take place at the Summers Tennis Center with the Falcons visiting on Thursday at 10 a.m. and the Mustangs playing at 10 a.m. Friday.