LEXINGTON, Va. – A rematch between the third seed and No. 58 Averett University men's tennis and the second-seed, No. 41 Shenandoah University, went down to the wire. Tied at three-all, the Hornets dramatically pulled out the win to end the Cougars' repeat title bid, 4-3 on Saturday afternoon.
Shenandoah (14-5) took doubles matches at the first and second claim to claim the almighty 1-0 lead, as the teams went to singles play.
The Hornets took care of the top spot and doubled its dual lead, but Averett (9-8) remained steady in the fight with senior
Sam Egui's 6-3, 6-2 win at no. 6. Sophomore
Lucas Fiandra needed just over an hour for his 6-1, 6-0 domination over Shenandoah's Lucas Beasley to tie events up.
The Hornets took the lead right back, but then sophomore
Roger Pamies Petit seized the moment to level the dual yet again. His 7-5, 6-2 win meant that it came down to the fourth singles slot for the make or break moment.
Sophomore
Rafael Jodas fell a set down to Shenandoah's Artem Babaiev, before he took the second set, 6-1. A third set remained for a finals birth, and the two players went back and forth. Babaiev broke early in the final set, and did not look back as he won it 6-3, and the dual for Shenandoah.
Averett looks to the NCAA selection show for an at-large bid into the national tournament, and await its fate once teams are announced on Monday, May 4.
