BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- It took everyone on Thursday afternoon, but No. 4 Southeastern Men's Tennis showed why they were ranked as such, grinding out a 4-2 win over No. 23 New College of Florida on Friday afternoon in the Sun Conference Tournament Semifinal.
The return to the final started in lightning fashion as the Fire (15-3) took control early, sweeping doubles on the top two flights. Javier Gallego and Gonzalo Fernandez dominated the top flight, blanking Timothy Phung and Carlos Quinones on flight two, 6-0. Newly ranked No. 37 Gustavo Rubio and Pedro De La Riva, extended their winning streak to three, commanding a 6-1 win over Pedro Lemos and Konstantin Kukaras on flight one. With this win, the doubles point went the way of the Fire.
The Mighty Banyans led Piero Fernandez and Aristeidis Lafazanos 5-2 on the third flight when doubles play was called.
With the way singles play started, one would think the match was already over.
De La Riva once again was first off with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Hugo Fidler on court three, pushing his own personal win streak to 13 straight matches. Fernandez followed with a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Kukaras on court four, and he extended his undefeated play to 11-0 in singles.
That was when things got interesting.
Backs against the wall, New College picked up their first point on court five, as Lemos defeated Aristeidis Lafazanos in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
All three matches in the third set, the Fire started to feel the heat. Even more so when Quinones picked up a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win over No. 15 Gallego on the second court.
It was No. 29 Piero Fernandez, who delivered the clincher, overcoming an early season loss to No. 33 Phung with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 nailbiter win on the top court.
Sun Conference Freshman of the Year Nikolas Kumria's match on court six was left unfinished with Kumria leading 4-6, 6-3, 6-5 in the third set.
A stressful win under their belts, SEU sets their focus on what is sure to be another intense match. A date with No. 3 and Sun Conference one-seed Keiser on Friday in the Sun Conference Tournament Championship at 10 a.m.
