TWU, SCAD Advance to Men's Tennis Tournament Championship Game

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - SCAD Atlanta and Tennessee Wesleyan each posted 4-0 semifinal victories Tuesday in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Tournament, sending the tournament's top two seeds into the championship match at Champions Tennis Club in Chattanooga, Tenn. No. 2 seed SCAD Atlanta opened the day by defeating Milligan, and No. 1 seed Tennessee Wesleyan followed with a 4-0 win over Montreat in the semifinal round.

The semifinal setup matched the tournament summary entering the day. Tennessee Wesleyan arrived as the No. 1 seed, while SCAD Atlanta entered as the No. 2 seed, and both sides handled their respective matches with strong doubles play and straight-set wins in key singles spots. The results completed the expected progression of the AAC Tournament bracket rather than a traditional doubleheader, with two semifinal matches deciding the finalists at the same site.

In the first semifinal, SCAD Atlanta took control against Milligan by winning Doubles 1 and Doubles 2. Firas Ben Chouikha and Joewyn Pascua earned a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles, and Valentino Capararo and Nicolas Fertonani added a 6-4 decision at No. 2. The third doubles flight was recorded tied at 5-5. From there, SCAD finished the clinch through singles, where Pascua won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1, Capararo earned a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 3, and Jakub Bojarski closed out a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 6. Milligan's Tomas Tenil picked up a three-set result at No. 5, 6-1, 2-6, 1-0, but the team totals recorded the unfinished flights as tied and SCAD as the match winner, 4-0.

Pascua and Capararo were central to the first match's standout performances. Pascua contributed in both doubles and singles, pairing for the 6-2 doubles victory before his straight-set win over Gonzaga Lafarga. Capararo also produced points in both phases, teaming with Fertonani for the 6-4 doubles result and then defeating Phil Schollhorn in straight sets. Bojarski's win at No. 6 gave SCAD a third completed singles victory, while other courts, including No. 2 singles and No. 4 singles, were listed as tied in the official results.

The second semifinal followed a similar pattern as Tennessee Wesleyan defeated Montreat 4-0. After Doubles 1 was recorded tied at 4-3, Tennessee Wesleyan secured the other two doubles courts. Agustin Gaia and Mario Monclus won 6-3 at No. 2 doubles, and David Leon and Serafin Zund took No. 3 doubles 6-1. In singles, Zund delivered the clearest statement of the match with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 over Joaquin Hernandez. Santiago Russo added a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 3, and Lucas Perez won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6. Additional Tennessee Wesleyan leads at Nos. 2, 4, and 5 were recorded as tied in the team scoring once the match was decided.

Zund's performance stood out for Tennessee Wesleyan, not only because of the double-bagel result in top-flight singles, but also because he teamed with Leon for the 6-1 doubles win. Perez also turned in a clean straight-set result at No. 6 and was part of the tied No. 1 doubles court with Maceo Simpson. Leon contributed on two courts as well, helping secure doubles before moving ahead in singles.

Tennessee Wesleyan and SCAD Atlanta moved on to meet for the AAC tournament title for the second year in a row. Tennessee Wesleyan won last year's battle, with this year's title tilt set for 2 pm on Thursday.