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Aggie men sweep regional finale
LAWTON, Oklahoma (May 9) – Cameron head tennis coach James Helvey was dowsed not once, but twice this afternoon as the nationally-ranked #7 Aggie men’s tennis team (21-3) clinched a berth in this year’s national tournament. CU swept the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm (14-11) in this afternoon’s regional championship match at the CU Tennis Center by the score 5-0. The win extended Cameron’s playoff run into the final week of postseason competition and sends them to Houston, Texas, next week.
“We knew exactly what we needed to do today and we took care of it,” Coach Helvey said. “It feels great to win but in no means is our season over. We need to stay focused; our goal is to win a national title.”
After sweeping their way through the region during the regular season, Cameron was chosen to host this week’s regional tournament. The first two rounds of the 64-team national tournament are the regional rounds and are hosted by the top schools in each region. CU received a bye in the first round and after today’s win will enter the “Sweet 16” of the national tournament.
The final rounds of the NCAA Division II national tournament will be held in Houston, Texas, next week from May 14-17. Cameron needs four more victories to win the national championship, which would be the first men’s tennis national title in school history, but just one loss to end their season. The national tournament is not double-elimination like many of the other postseason tournaments.
Today Cameron couldn’t have asked for a better start as they swept their way through the first three doubles matches. CU recorded a pair of 8-2 victories to add to an 8-3 win.
“Whenever you can win the first three doubles matches, you are in the driver’s seat,” Coach Helvey said. “It is always great to win the first three because of the advantage you get. Our guys were on a roll today.”
At the No. 1 doubles position, the nationally-ranked (#1) doubles team of Jordi Mullor and Daniel Pazos won their match 8-2 in a blistering forty-five minutes. CU defeated SOSU’s top doubles team of Luiz Ramos and Blake Scott in the match.
Cameron’s No. 2 tandem of Nicolas Mascheroni and Cristian Easton followed suit with an 8-2 win of their own against Nikita Ryashchenko and Ben Disley. CU’s No. 3 duo of Saman Samii and Ignacio Murgier wrapped up doubles with an 8-3 victory over Jesse Buchanan and Greg Owen.
“The camaraderie on this team is great, and you can see that in the way they play,” Coach Helvey said. “Our guys are very vocal out there on the court and I think that is a great thing.”
After winning the first three matches of the afternoon, Cameron needed just two more victories to punch their ticket to the “Sweet 16.” The Aggies got the victories they needed in the No. 4 and No. 5 singles matches.
At the No. 4 singles spot, Nicolas Mascheroni put CU a win away from ending the afternoon’s action with his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Luiz Ramos. Upon winning the final point, Mascheroni let out a cry of “Let’s go CU!” signaling to his teammates that they needed just one more victory.
Seconds after Mascheroni won his match, cheers erupted from the home crowd as Cristian Easton won the No. 5 singles match to give CU the overall victory. Easton won his match over Marcos Freitas by the score 6-3, 6-2.
With Cameron winning the five matches needed to advance further in the postseason, the remaining matches were pulled off the court in progress. The unfinished matches were at the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 6 singles positions.
“I’ve said before that our men’s tennis team scares me, but in a good way,” Coach Helvey said. “They are so focused out their on the court. If they want to beat you bad enough, they will find a way to do it.”
Some regional men’s tennis tournaments will not conclude until tomorrow, so the final field of sixteen teams will not be set until late Saturday or early Sunday. Aggie fans can tune to the Cameron Athletics website at goaggies.cameron.edu for the latest on the Cameron Aggie men’s team’s pursuit of a national championship. Fans can also visit the NCAA website at ncaasports.com for the entire men’s tennis national bracket.
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