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Box Score 2 TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler men's tennis looked dominant yet again as they pulled away from Harding in a 6-1 win on Sunday while the Patriots women battled close but couldn't find their footing in a 5-2 loss.
Both teams got their matches started at 12 p.m. on Sunday, and the men's program wasted no time in imposing a quick start in doubles.
Despite dropping line #3, the Patriots rattled off a pair of decisive wins in line #1 and line #2 to take the doubles point and the early advantage. In line #1, it was
Daniil Felker and
Egor Shestakov picking up a huge 6-1 win, and in line #2
Joaquin Bianchi and Forkane Lebdi combined for a 6-4 win.
That dominant play would continue right over into singles, as Shestakov took just over an hour to put together a 6-2, 6-2 straight sets win to make it 2-0.
Harding would battle back with a win in line #3 and the lead would be cut in half down to 2-1.
Bianchi in line #1 would come through clutch, as the put together a dramatic three set win in scores of 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to put the Patriots into match point.
Carel Wessel would be the man to seal the point away for the Patriots, as he delivered a 7-6, 6-4 straight sets win to ensure the Patriots win.
Also picking up wins for UT Tyler on the day were Felker and
Jordi Garcia Portell. Felker battled his way back from a 6-7 first set defeat to polish off a 7-5, 6-3 win, and Garcia Portell would also come back from a 6-7 defeat in set one with wins of 7-6, 1-0 (10-5) to ensure a monster 6-1 win for UT Tyler on the day.
#12 UT Tyler will now look ahead to next weekend, as they continue their homestand with three more home matches beginning with West Florida at 10 a.m. on Friday.
For the Patriots women, they would battle closely with Harding for the entire match, but the Bisons had just enough to keep them out of reach.
Muskan Gupta and
Allison Schwartz picked up another key doubles win by a score of 7-5 in line #1, but the Bisons won line #2 6-3 and line #3 7-6 (7-4) to take the 1-0 advantage into singles.
In the singles matches, it was the Patriots who took early control, as
Luisa Moraes blitzed her opponent with a straight sets win of 6-1, 6-2 to even the match.
Minutes later, Gupta added in her own win of 6-1, 6-1 in dominant fashion as the Patriots took the 2-1 lead overall.
Harding would not go away quietly, as they answered the call with a 7-6, 6-1 win in line #2 and then a 6-3, 6-0 win in line #6 to put themselves in front 3-2 and onto match point.
That match point would come down to line #4, and Harding came through with a clutch finish as they won a 7-6, 6-3 decision to pick up their fourth point necessary for the win and ultimately lead to a 5-2 win.
For the Patriots women, they will also continue their homestand next weekend, beginning with a matchup against West Florida on Friday at 10 a.m. inside the Summers Tennis Center.
