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Lubbock Christian

Next Match:

vs. Lubbock Christian

2/15/2026 | 1 p.m. CT


Feb. 15 (Sun) / 1 p.m. CT


vs. Lubbock Christian

History

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – #7 ranked and #6 seed UT Tyler men’s tennis took a dramatic 4-3 win over #9 ranked and #7 seed Azusa Pacific on Saturday at the ITA Indoor National Championships.
 
It was the Patriots who hit the cruise control early, getting a 6-1 win from Trevor Short and Job Japelj in the #3 doubles line, and then followed up with a 6-3 win from Artiom Dorofeev and Samuel Antwi in the #2 line to take the doubles point and move ahead 1-0.
 
The Patriots led off singles with another win, as Dorofeev kept up his form with a 7-5, 6-0 win in straight sets in the #2 line to double the Patriots lead.
 
The Cougars battled back with a win in the #1 line, but Antwi joined his doubles partner by adding his own win in the #4 line with a 6-2, 6-4 straight sets win to put the Patriots on match point.
 
Azusa Pacific refused to fall, battling back as they took wins in the #3 and #5 line to even up the match at three points each.
 
Those two wins brought the match down to the #6 line, where Martin Despodov stood. The junior from Bulgaria dropped his first set 4-6, but roared back with a 6-1 win. The deciding set was all Despodov, where he capped off his comeback with a 6-2 win to give the Patriots the 4-3.
 
#7 ranked and #6 seed UT Tyler will now face off with conference rival #5 ranked and #4 seeded Lubbock Christian as the two teams will battle it out for fifth place at the ITA Indoor National Championships on Sunday. Their match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT.
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