BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- No. 4 Southeastern gave No. 3 Keiser all they could handle in the Sun Conference Final, but the Seahawks proved all too much, claiming the trophy 4-0.
The perennial powerhouse in tennis, Keiser, set the tone quickly in doubles. No. 9 Liljekvist and Dubas shut out No. 37 Pedro De La Riva and Gustavo Rubio 6–0 on the top flight, and No. 4 Alam and Santos followed with a 6–2 win over Piero Fernandez and Leonardo Chiari at flight three to secure the point.
The second flight was left unfinished as Keiser had secured the early advantage, showing Javier Gallego and Gonzalo Fernandez tied with Oliver King and Felipe Rivadeneira 4-4.
Down 1-0, the Fire needed to make some noise in singles, but Keiser maintained control.
On the top flight, No. 9 Liljekvist fended off No. 29 Fernandez in the first set 7–5, before finding his groove and claiming the court 6–1 in the second set. The lead went to 3-0 when King handed No. 20 Gonzalo Fernandez his first loss of the season 6-3, 6-1 on court four. The dagger came on court six as Santos handed Nikolas Kumria hsi first loss of the season 6–3, 6–4 on the sixth court.
Three matches were left unfinished, Aristeidis Lafazanos was a game away from defeat on court five, down 3-6, 6-5 to Rivadeneira. No. 15 Gallego had split sets with the NAIA No. 1 Shaheed Alam 6-2, 4-6, and No. 58 De La Riva had split sets with Dubas 6-4, 4-6.
Despite the setback, the Fire are expected to receive an at-large bid into the NAIA National Tournament being ranked No. 4 in the NAIA. They will be able to rest for a bit as the tournament begins May 12.