SURPRISE, ARIZONA – UT Tyler men's tennis will close their 2026 campaign in the NCAA Quarterfinals after a 4-1 defeat to No. 5 seed Catawba on Thursday.
UT Tyler closes the year with a 22-6 record overall, tied for the second most wins in a single season in program history.
The Patriots got off to a big start in doubles, ripping off wins in the #3 and #1 lines to take a 1-0 lead.
Samuel Antwi and
Trevor Short in the #3 line would battle to a 3-3 tie through six games, but answered the call with three straight games to win 6-3.
Daniil Felker and
Carel Wessel in the #1 line would finish just a few moments later with their own win. They would start 2-2 before taking their own 4-2 lead. Catawba would fight back to make it 4-4, but Felker and Wessel slammed the door with two straight wins to make it 6-4 and give the Patriots the 1-0 lead in the match.
In singles however, the Indians would flip the script quickly to put themselves in control of the match. They took each of the first three lines, flipping the match on its head as they took a 3-1 lead.
Antwi, Felker, and
Jordi Garcia Portell would each collect the opening set in lines #4, #5, and #6, putting the foundation on the Patriots comeback hopes. Catawba would have the answer in all three matches, winning each second set to force a third set.
The final point would come in line #4, where Antwi would continue to battle. He split the opening two sets 6-4, 3-6, and the Indians would take a 3-0 lead in set three. That lead would grow out to 5-1 before two straight wins from Antwi made things interesting at 5-3. However, that would be the end of the road as the Indians took the final game to win the match and take a 4-1 win.
For the Patriots, they capped off a fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth and added in a third straight appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals. They also finished as runner-up in both the LSC Regular Season and postseason tournament.
Doubles:
1. #14 Daniil Felker/Carel Wessel (UTT) def. #18 Luca Bergonzi/Agustin Mastri (CAT) 6-4
2. Job Japelj/Malo Poulesquen (UTT) vs. #50 Alen Bill/Santiago Passoni (CAT) 5-5, unfinished
3. Samuel Antwi/Trevor Short (UTT) def. Mateo Berne/Alessandro Valletta (CAT) 6-3
Singles:
1. #48 Agustin Mastri (CAT) def. #38 Artiom Dorofeev (UTT) 6-1, 6-2
2. Santiago Passoni (CAT) def. #50 Carel Wessel (UTT) 6-2, 6-3
3. Mateo Berne (CAT) def. #19 Malo Poulesquen (UTT) 6-3, 6-4
4. Luca Bergonzi (CAT) def. #12 Samuel Antwi (UTT) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
5. Daniil Felker (UTT) vs. Ryosuke Inagawa (CAT) 7-5, 4-6, 1-3, unfinished
6. Jordi Garcia Portell (UTT) vs. Alen Bill (CAT) 6-3, 4-6, 4-3, unfinished
