OMAHA, Neb. – It came down to the last match to decide what team would claim the final spot in the Summit League Men's Tennis Championships on Saturday afternoon. Omaha was able to save three match points and claim a 4-3 victory over South Dakota State to secure a spot in next week's championships.
Omaha improves to 11-14 overall and 2-3 in Summit League play. South Dakota State ends the season with a 12-12 mark and 1-4 league record.
"Today exemplified everything that is great about college tennis," commented head coach Tyson Thomas.
The Mavericks took the doubles point to start the match. John Ellis and Matt Dunn defeated Lucas Pereira and Chuck Tang at No. 3, 6-3. Colin Buckley and Ignace Warson lost their match at No. 1, 6-2. Omaha clinched the doubles point at No. 2 when Erik Anderson and Alex Woodward stopped Jonny Highham and Marco Paulo Castro, 6-3.
Dunn gave Omaha a 2-0 lead by making quick work of Henrique Pereira at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 6-2. South Dakota State won matches at No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6 to take a 3-2 lead.
Omaha leveled the match at No. 5 singles when Anderson won a split set match over Lucas Pereira, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1.
The last match left on court was No. 1 singles. Buckley took the first set from SDSU's Lovro Curcija in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (5). Curcija rallied to take the second set 6-2 to set up the deciding set. Curcija took a 5-4 lead in the final set and had Buckley down 40-15. Buckley was able to stave off three match points to even the set, 5-5. He won the next two games to win the match, 7-5.
Thomas praised his team's support of Buckley in the final set. "Colin was down three match points and was suffering from cramps. He was able to save the three match points and then rode the support from his teammates and went on to win and clinch the match."
"We are very excited to represent UNO in the conference tournament next weekend," said Thomas. "I am so proud of this teams' resolve. They have come so far and to achieve it with a team win couldn't be more perfect."
Omaha will return to action on Friday, April 29 at the Summit League Tennis Championships hosted at the Koch Tennis Center in Omaha. The Mavericks will take on No. 1 seed Denver at a yet to be determined time.
