DALLAS — The Southwestern men's tennis team reached new heights all season but could not solve Trinity University, losing to the Tigers 5-1 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Trinity opened the match, scoring a win in No. 1 singles. Christian Settles and Hao Nguyen, the No. 5-ranked doubles team in the West Region, defeated Drew Shuvalov and Carlos Esteban Rodero 8-1.
Wilson Hamilton and Alessio Azzalini put even more pressure on Southwestern with an 8-3 victory over Alexander Joseph and Anton Borovik in No. 3 doubles.
Southwestern's team of juniors, Hunter Bajoit and Vesko Lekovic, continued to be a steady force against Trinity, defeating Jordan Pitts and Cameron Krimbill 8-6 to avoid the doubles sweep and pick up their third win over the Tigers to improve to 16-1 as a duo this season.
"We did not play good fundamental doubles overall, and it showed in the scores," head coach Billy Porter said. "We did just enough at No. 2 to get a huge momentum boost going into singles."
Nguyen, the No. 11-ranked singles player in the West Region, opened singles competition with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Lekovic. Hamilton followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Esteban Rodero, putting Southwestern on the brink of elimination. Krimbill, the top-ranked singles player in the region, clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Bajoit in No. 1 singles.
"We battled at every position in singles and truly left it all out there," Porter said. "Trinity was just a bit better and we did our best to prolong the match."
At the other courts, Joseph, Steven Tibbetts, and Borovik lost their first sets against Azzalini, Pitts, and Settles in No. 2, 5, and 6 singles but rallied to force a third set in each match before the competition ended.
"We hate losing but to keep things in perspective, we qualified for NCAA's for the first time in program history and made it to the Sweet 16," Porter said. "That alone makes this the greatest team in program history."
Southwestern ends its season with a 15-3 record, including a 1-1 record in the NCAA Tournament. The Pirates will be represented in the NCAA Singles Championships by Bajoit in Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning May 24.