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Joe Browning/UNCWsports.com

Men's Tennis Joe Browning

Seahawks Knock Off No. 48 Penn State To Reach USF Finals

UNCW-PSU Match Results | USF Spring Break Tournament Draw

TAMPA, Florida  – The UNCW men's tennis team exacted some revenge on 2014 NCAA opponent Penn State and advanced to the championship of the USF Spring Break Tournament on Saturday with a thrilling 4-3 victory over the No. 48-ranked Nittany Lions at the USF Varsity Courts.
 
The Seahawks, 8-3, pulled off their second straight upset in the eight-team tournament to advance to Sunday's 3 p.m. championship against the host No. 20 Bulls. Combined with Friday's 4-2 upset over No. 25 Drake, the Seahawks have gone a perfect 8-0 in three-set matches over the two days in the Sunshine State.
 
"It's a testament to the fitness and character of this team," said Mait DuBois, the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association Coach-of-the-Year. "When we played Penn State last year in the NCAA Tournament, we were within 20 minutes of winning and lost. We were within 20 minutes of losing today and it didn't look like we had a chance, but the guys hung around and found a way to win."
 
The Seahawks dropped the doubles point for the second straight day and quickly fell behind, 3-0, before bouncing back to win the final four matches off the court – all in three-setters – to stun the Nittany Lions.
 
Trailing, 3-0, freshman Andres Torres got the Seahawks on the board by handing PSU's Marc Collado his first loss of the season, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 6 singles. Torres, from Armenia, Colombia, improved to a team-leading 9-2 in matches this spring. Senior Zach Hublitz then downed Nika Dolidze, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, at No. 5 singles to slice the deficit to 3-2.
 
Junior Christiaan Van der Burgh tied the match at 3-all with a hard-fought  6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5), triumph over Alex Fennell at No. 1 singles, setting up a dramatic 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, victory by junior Santtu Leskinen over Matt Barry for the clincher. Leskinen, from Helsinki, Finland, clinched the match for the second straight day after sparking UNCW over No. 25 Drake on Friday, 4-2.
 
"Going into the tournament here, we lost two matches that we didn't feel like we should have," added DuBois. "We challenged the guys to pick up their competitive intensity and they responded unbelievably well. It was just a great effort by the four guys who won the last four matches in three sets."
 
Penn State, which tripped up No. 73 VCU in the quarterfinals, faces No. 63 Tulane at Noon on Sunday for third place in the tourney, which features six nationally-ranked teams.
 
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Players Mentioned

Zach Hublitz

Zach Hublitz

PLAYER
6' 0"
Senior
Santtu Leskinen

Santtu Leskinen

PLAYER
6' 1"
Junior
Christiaan Van der Burgh

Christiaan Van der Burgh

PLAYER
6' 3"
Junior
Andres Torres

Andres Torres

PLAYER
5' 9"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Zach Hublitz

Zach Hublitz

6' 0"
Senior
PLAYER
Santtu Leskinen

Santtu Leskinen

6' 1"
Junior
PLAYER
Christiaan Van der Burgh

Christiaan Van der Burgh

6' 3"
Junior
PLAYER
Andres Torres

Andres Torres

5' 9"
Freshman
PLAYER