Andre Correa tipped the scales in favor of the Norse in a 5-4 win over Southern Indiana in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Results
MIDLAND, Mich. - The Northern Kentucky University men's tennis team made history on Saturday afternoon as the Norse won their first NCAA Tournament match since 2004, defeating Southern Indiana 5-4 in the first round.
NKU (15-6), the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region, moves on face top-seeded host Northwood (Mich.) on Sunday. First serve is set for 9 a.m. Southern Indiana ends its season with a 21-4 record.
Doubles play opened with the regionally ranked pair of
Tyler Fraser and
Pierce Kohls defeated Michael Kuzaj and Santiago Lopez, 8-3. USI came back to claim the other two doubles points.
USI looked to be in the driver's seat after Juan Quiroz won the top singles match against NKU's
Martin Leroy, 6-0, 6-4, to give the team a 3-1 edge.
Fraser and
Guillaume Berman quickly pulled the team match even with singles wins in the No. 6 and No. 2 flights, respectively. Fraser defeated Rodrigo Flores, 6-2, 6-1, while Berman bested Lopez, 6-3, 6-3.
Christopher Angulo put the Norse on the cusp of victory with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) win over Diego Gimenez at No. 5 singles. USI's Ben Boesing drew the team match back level with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Kohls to set up the final match dramatics at No. 4.
Tiebreakers were the order of the day for
Andre Correa and Michael Kuzaj, as Kuzaj took the first set, 7-5, while Correa came back with a 7-3 tiebreak in Set 2.
Correa took a 4-1 lead in the third set before Kuzaj fell due to injury and was unable to continue, giving Correa, and the Norse, the victory on the retirement.
The win is the first for the Norse against USI in three tries this season.
