Box Score

PADUCAH, Ky. – For the first time since 2009, the Jacksonville State men's tennis team will vie for an Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship after taking down Morehead State, 4-2, in the semifinals of the OVC Tennis Tournament on Friday morning.

The Gamecocks, who won the league's regular season crown and the No. 1 seed in the men's draw, will face No. 2 seed Belmont on Saturday for the title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tennis Championships.  Match time is set for 10 a.m. JSU improved to 16-7 on the season, while the Eagles of MSU wrapped up their season at 10-10.  MSU advanced to the semifinals against JSU after turning back No. 4 seed SIU Edwardsville on Thursday. The two squads were facing each other for the second time in six days as Jax State claimed a 4-3 win over MSU last Saturday in Jacksonville to close out the regular season.

JSU took the early 1-0 lead after posting a pair of wins in doubles.  The Gamecocks' top duo of Jaryd Reese and Pedro Wagner quick-worked MSU's pairing of Ji Hoon Heo and Jack Swindells , 8-3, at No. 1.  Needing another match to clinch the point, both contests at No. 2 and 3 were tightly contested and came down to a tiebreaker on both courts.  JSU's team of Mathias Chaim and Dylan Gee edged the Eagles' team of David Clifford and Nick Mercer, 8-7, after scoring a 7-3 tiebreaker.

With the doubles point secured, Jax State looked to carry the momentum in to singles play, but knew MSU would give it a battle – and it was a battle as the Eagles won the opening set on five of the six singles courts.  Mathias, playing at No. 5, was the lone Gamecock to claim the first set of his match with Clifford.  Clifford entered last Saturday's match undefeated against OVC competition, but Chaim handed him his first loss in the previous meeting to clinch the match for JSU.  Chaim, from Brazil, topped Clifford for the second straight match with a 6-4, 6-2 win to give JSU a 2-0 lead that did not last very long. 
MSU's Gabriel Ruiz turned back JSU's Felipe Diaz in straight sets for the Eagles' first point.  Shortly after the match at No. 6 closed out, Giovanni Samaha posted a 6-4, 6-3 win over JSU's Reese at No. 2.

The Gamecocks showed some will at No. 1, 3 and 4 as it came down to a third set at all three courts.  Wagner dropped the first set to Swindells but forced a third-and-deciding set after a 6-3 second-set victory.  Feeding off energy from Gee and Jefferson Wendler-Filho forcing a third set, Wagner bounced Swindells, 6-4, in the final set to give Jax State its third point of the match, but needed another point at either No. 3 or 4. Both Gee and Wendler-Filho showed why they were named All-OVC performers in their respective matches.

After falling to Mercer, 6-4, in the second set, Wendler-Filho stormed back in the second set after being down 5-4 in the set to win 7-5 over Mercer and push the match to a third set.  Gee mirrored Wendler-Filho at No. 3 after splitting the first two sets with Heo.  Wendler-Filho closed out the match and sent JSU to the championship match with a 6-1 third-set win.

"We really battled today after being down a set in five of the matches," said head coach Steve Bailey.  "We showed a lot of resiliency today and I could not be more prouder of a group of guys that have fought all year long and have gotten better each match. "

The Bruins of Belmont, the No. 2 seed in the draw, turned back Austin Peay, 4-2 in the other semifinal match at the Heflin Tennis Center.  JSU and BU played 13 days ago in Nashville, Tenn. as the Gamecocks pulled out a 4-2 decision over the Bruins.