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Arizona Christian University

OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
ACU's Sam Miyata wins to send Firestorm to Round Two
Natalie Lopez
4
Winner Arizona Christian ACU (15-6)
3
New College of Florida NCF (9-9)
Winner
Arizona Christian ACU
(15-6)
4
Final
3
New College of Florida NCF
(9-9)

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | Natalie Lopez

Firestorm Fights Back From Deficit, Advance To Round Two

Mobile, Ala.- Arizona Christian advanced in dramatic fashion Tuesday morning, edging New College of Florida 4-3 in Round One of the NAIA Men's Tennis National Tournament at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama. 


RESULTS
  • Match Score: Arizona Christian - 4, New College of Florida - 3
  • Records: Arizona Christian - 15-6, New College of Florida - 9-9
  • Location: Mobile Tennis Center, Mobile, AL

Inside Box Score
  • The Firestorm set the tone early by claiming the doubles point with victories on courts two and three. 
  • The duo of Fenosoa Rasendra and Lennert Lemahieu rolled to a dominant 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles, while Petar Wemmenhove and Samuel Miyata secured a 7-5 victory at No. 3 to give ACU the early 1-0 advantage.
  • In singles play, the match quickly turned into a battle as the Mighty Banyans answered with wins at the top three positions to take a 3-1 lead. 
  • Despite the deficit, ACU refused to back down and mounted a comeback behind strong performances in the lower half of the lineup.
  • The Firestorm's Fenosoa Rasendra sparked the rally with a clutch point at No. 5 singles, battling through three sets to defeat NCF's Pedro Lemos 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
  • ACU's Adrian Smith followed by defeating NCF's in two sets 6-2, 6-3 to even the score of the match at No. 6 singles. 
  • With the season hanging in the balance, ACU's Samuel Miyata delivered the clinching victory for the Firestorm at No. 4 singles.
  • Miyata regrouped after splitting the first two sets and closed out the match over NCF's Konstantin Kukaras to send the Firestorm into the next round of the national tournament.
  • ACU won the match, 4-3.
 
Thoughts from Coach Phil Carlisle
"I can't say enough about this team's heart and fight. They've shown it all year and risen to every challenge and today was another example of that. We've taken so many tough losses over the last couple years, but they all prepared us to finally come out on the right side of the tight matches this year. I'm beyond blessed to have another day with this team, we're going to enjoy this ride for as long as we can." 

Next Up
The Firestorm advance to Round Two of the NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship tournament and will face #2 Tennessee Wesleyan tomorrow at 9am CT/7am MT at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, AL.



 
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