ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLORIDA – UT Tyler men's tennis has punched their ticket to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in the Division II era of the program as they beat no. 9 seed Hawaii Pacific by a final score of 4-0.
 
The Patriots dropped just three total sets, all of which came in singles as they completed the sweep of the Sharks on Tuesday morning.
 
In doubles action, the Patriots got a huge point early, as the #17 ranked pair of Daniil Felker and Egor Shestakov combined for a 6-1 win over #12 ranked Jakob Beran and Mile Matic to get themselves just one win away from a 1-0 lead.
 
As the sets wound down, Mohamed Forkane Lebdi and Job Japelj held the lead in their first set by a score of 5-4, while the #48 ranked pair of Joaquin Bianchi and Carel Wessel held a lead of their own.
 
In the race to finish, Bianchi and Wessel were able to close out their match first by a score of 6-3, giving the Patriots the doubles point and a 1-0 lead heading into the critical singles matches.
 
In those singles matches, UT Tyler took the first set in five of the six matches, establishing a huge lead that they would not relinquish throughout the match.
 
Egor Shestakov was the first man finished, as he took a 6-3, 6-4 straight sets win. Closely behind him was Jordi Garcia Portell, as he took a 7-5, 6-3 straight sets win to put the Patriots just one point away from the victory.
 
Joaquin Bianchi was the only Patriot to drop his first set, but he came back with a huge 6-2 win to even up his match at a set each. Yudai Watanabe would drop his second set, as his match also went even.
 
The final point looked to come from either the #3 or #4 lines, as both Carel Wessel and Daniil Felker were locked in tight battles. Wessel ultimately dropped his second set as well, but responded by building a big lead in his third set. Felker took a 4-1 lead in his second set, but the Sharks battled back to force a tiebreaker.
 
Ultimately it was Wessel who would post the game winning point, as he closed out his opponent with a 6-0 third set victory making his match 7-5, 2-6, 6-0 to give UT Tyler a 4-0 win.
 
For the Patriots, it is their first ever appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals in the Division II era, and it marks the first time they have beaten Hawaii Pacific in what was their third meeting.
 
The Patriots now have the remainder of the day off, as they now reset and will take on no. 1 seeded Flagler in the quarterfinal round. That matchup will take place at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida on Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. central time.