Box Score ARLINGTON, TEXAS – UT Tyler men's tennis had a flair for the dramatic on Friday, as they took down UT Permian Basin behind clutch efforts in singles, including a dramatic win from
Yudai Watanabe in the clinching match.
In doubles, the Falcons took the quick advantage, as they put together a 6-0 win in line #3. However, the Patriots battled back, as
Joaquin Bianchi and
Carel Wessel delivered a 6-4 win to even up the doubles matches and leave it in the hands of line #1.
In line #1,
Egor Shestakov and
Daniil Felker have been the top line all season long for UT Tyler, and they showed why as they took a dramatic win that saw the match extend all the way out to 9-7 in the tiebreaker before the Patriots took the match by a score of 7-6 (9-7).
Over in singles, the Falcons struck back, as they took a straight sets 6-0, 6-4 win in line #1 to even up the match at one each. They followed again with another straight sets win in scores of 6-3, 6-4 to move ahead 2-1 and put the pressure back on UT Tyler.
Responding to that pressure was none other than
Egor Shestakov, who calmly dispatched his opponent 6-4, 6-3 in the #2 line to put the match back to all square.
Just behind him was his doubles partner
Daniil Felker, who split his first two sets 6-2, 1-6 to set up a tiebreaking third set. In that set it was Felker again, taking a 6-3 win to move the Patriots out in front 3-2.
In line #5, the Falcons would get their clutch answer and stave off the winning point, as they battled back from a 6-4 first set loss to take the final two sets in scores of 6-4, 6-2 to pull back even and set up the final match in the #6 line.
In that #6 line stood
Yudai Watanabe, who is no stranger to the big moment. Last season, he clinched the point that gave the Patriots the 2023 LSC Regular Season Championship. Tonight, he had the chance to send the Patriots to the LSC Tournament Championship match for the third straight season.
In the first set, Watanabe battled his way to a 7-6 (7-2) win that featured a big tiebreaker performance. In the second set, the Falcons battled back, taking a 6-2 win. That left it all down to the third set, where Watanabe flexed his clutch mentality yet again, putting together a 6-2 win to give the Patriots the 4-3 win.
UT Tyler will now compete for the LSC Tournament crown for the third consecutive year, looking to claim their second ever LSC Tournament championship. That match is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon against #1 seed Midwestern State at the Arlington Tennis Center.
