ARLINGTON, TEXAS – UT Tyler men's tennis put together a brilliant fight throughout a lengthy delay, but Midwestern State had the narrow edge, claiming a 4-3 win in the LSC Semifinals.
 
The match began in doubles, and the Patriots got a big win from Artiom Dorofeev and Malo Poulesquen to put themselves ahead and needing one more win for a 1-0 lead. The Mustangs battled back to take the #3 line, setting up a big match in line #1. Carel Wessel and Daniil Felker would take a 5-2 lead, but the Mustangs rallied to force the match into a tiebreaker. In that tiebreaker, the Mustangs would prevail, taking a 6-7 (4-7) win and the doubles point.
 
In singles, Dorofeev would quickly level the match, taking a 6-2, 6-4 straight sets win to pull even. The Mustangs battled back with a straight sets win of their own in the #1 line, but the Patriots gain pulled even, this time as Poulesquen took a 6-3, 6-3 win.
 
In the middle of the singles matches, rain would fall, causing a lengthy delay that would last over seven hours while the courts would be dried and prepped for evening play.
 
Under the lights, Martin Despodov battled in the #3 line, splitting his first two sets 4-6, 7-5, setting up a big third set. In that third set, the Mustangs would ultimately prevail, taking a 6-7 win to pull back ahead 3-2.
 
Needing a win to stay alive, the Patriots got a big effort from Felker in line #4. Felker dropped his first set 6-7 (1-7), but came roaring back with a 6-1 win in set two. That set up the deciding set three, and he would rally from a 4-3 deficit to force another tiebreaker. He would be dominant in that tiebreaker, never trailing on his way to a 7-6 (7-3) win to even the match at 3-3.
 
Jordi Garcia Portell stood in the deciding match, and would rally back after a close 6-7 (5-7) first set with a 6-4 second set win to set up a third and final set for a berth in the LSC Championship match. The Mustangs would take a 5-2 lead, but Garcia Portell continued to rally, battling back to a 5-4 deficit. Ultimately he would come up just short, falling 4-6 in the final set.
 
UT Tyler will now play the waiting game to determine if they will qualify for the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. Those selections will take place on Monday, May 5^th at 7 p.m. central time on NCAA.com.