MARION, Ind. - Grace's men's tennis team dispatched Indiana Wesleyan 4-2 in the semifinals of the Crossroads League Tournament on Thursday.
The Lancers moved one step closer to defending their three straight CL Tournament titles. Grace will take on Huntington on Friday at noon (in Marion) for the championship match.
The semifinal match began on Wednesday but had to carry into Thursday due to weather.
The match was deadlocked at 2-2 by the end of Wednesday's play.
The Lancers won the doubles' point by a narrow margin. Aurelien Coan and Stergios Papadopoulos were early winners (6-3) at No. 3 doubles, and No. 1 doubles was headed to a tiebreaker.
But Andreas Polichronopoulos and Manuel Marques pulled out a 7-5 win at No. 2 doubles to give Grace the first point.
Mahefa Rakotomalala won without blemish (6-0, 6-0) at No. 5 singles, but IWU struck back with wins at No. 1 and 6 singles to even the match, ending the day.
On Thursday, the teams only needed to win two more courts to advance in the tournament, and Grace did so quickly.
Benjamin Rahine produced a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles, and Marques iced the win with a 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 4, sending the Lancers into the championship match.
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FULL RESULTS
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