Belton, Texas - The University of Texas at Tyler men's tennis team stormed back in singles to erase a doubles deficit and post a 5-2 victory over Mississippi College in the semifinals of the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament Saturday in Belton. The victory sends UT-Tyler into Sunday's Championship Match.
Taylor Griffith and Jacob Womack posted an 8-4 win at #3 doubles to give the Choctaws an early lead. Daniel Brown and Ryan Spencer won an 8-6 decision at #1 doubles for the Patriots to even the match, but Dudley Lampton and Matthew Martin won in a tiebreaker at #2 doubles to give Mississippi College a 2-1 lead going into singles play. Spencer won at #3 singles to even the match and Edward Timponi's victory at #5 singles put U.T.-Tyler up 3-2. Doug Kierstead added a win at #6 singles and Brown clinched the win with a victory at #1 singles. The Patriots were also leading at #2 and #4 singles when the match was halted.
UT-Tyler improves to 21-3 on the season with the win and moves into Sunday's Championship Match to take on U.T.-Dallas. That match will be played at the Yvonne Li Tennis Center on the UMHB campus, 30 minutes after completion of the Women's Championship Match. The ASC Tournament Champion also claims the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships. The loss ends Mississippi College's season at 8-9.
