(Portions of this story courtesy of Trinity University)
CLAREMONT, Calif. - Trinity's eighth-ranked men's tennis team earned a narrow 5-4 win over third-ranked Middlebury (VT) College in the NCAA Third Place Match on Wednesday afternoon.
The Tigers clinched the match at No. 4 singles, as junior Aaron Skinner broke a 4-4 tie with his 7-5, 6-7 (1-7), 6-1 victory. Trinity took four of the six singles matches, rallying from a 2-1 deficit after doubles play.
Trinity actually fell behind 2-0 early as Middlebury came out on fire with 8-3 and 8-4 doubles wins. The top line of doubles went to a tiebreaker, with Tiger standouts Paxton Deuel and Nico Moreno winning 9-8 (7-2) to give Trinity its first point.
Middlebury struck first in singles, pushing the lead to 3-1, but then the Tigers rallied with wins from Jordan Mayer (at No. 5) and Deuel (No. 1) to the tie team match. Mayer won in straight sets, followed by Deuel's 1-6, 6-1, 6-0 come-from-behind victory.
Charlie Curtis quickly followed suit with his straight-set victory, taking a tiebreaker 7-1 to clinch in the second set, and putting the Tigers up 4-3.
Middlebury rallied after dropping the first set at line three, tying the match, and setting up Skinner's dramatic finish.
Trinity opened the week with a quarterfinals victory over second-ranked Washington (MO) University on Monday, as Head Coach Russell McMindes led the Tigers to their first appearance in the NCAA Semifinals since 2000. The Tigers fell to Amherst in a close contest yesterday, and Amherst went on to win the NCAA Division III title this afternoon.
The Tigers wrap up the season with a 26-7 record, losing just three matches all year to Division III opponents.
The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships begin tomorrow at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Deuel will be Trinity's lone competitor in the tournament on the men's side, and is ranked sixth nationally among all singles players. On the women's side, Texas Lutheran's Sofia Vega will open up tomorrow afternoon as the No. 7 seed.
