EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Belmont University men's tennis team earned a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship match, defeating Jacksonville State 4-2 on Saturday in the OVC Semifinals in Evansville.
Belmont will make its fourth OVC Championship appearance since joining the conference in the 2012-13 season, eyeing its first OVC Tournament title. The Bruins will look to win their second conference tournament championship and for their second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
The Bruins claimed the doubles point with victories from seniors Marko Ilic and Taisei Miyamoto followed by a doubles victory from freshmen Tomas Luis and Diego Castro, going into singles play up 1-0. With Ilic/Miyamoto's 11th doubles victory of the season, the senior doubles team moved into a tie for 12th on the program's single season doubles wins list with Rodrigo Amaral/Joao Paoliello (2008-09) and Matt Fitzpatrick/Michael Moretti (2003-04). They need just one more to move into a tie for 11th on that list.
Ilic, the 2021 OVC Player of the Year, picked up his 12th singles victory of the season and his 57th career singles win in two sets by a pair of 7-5 scores. Junior Arthur Toledo, a 2021 All-OVC Second Team member, picked up his 13th singles win of the season to extend Belmont's lead in the match.
Jacksonville State picked up two singles wins in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, with the deciding point of the semifinal coming down to one match. That deciding match belonged to Belmont, thanks to freshman Alfred Wallin collecting his 11th singles win of the season with a two-set victory by scores of 6-3, 6-2.
The Bruins face Tennessee Tech for the OVC Championship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Wesselman Tennis Center in Evansville. Belmont will look for revenge from the regular season, where the Golden Eagles defeated the Bruins on March 22 by a score of 5-2 at the Belmont Tennis Complex.
Belmont 4, Jacksonville State 2
Doubles
1. Ilic/Miyamoto (BEL) def. Norwood/Kaplja (JSU), 6-4
2. Luis/Castro (BEL) def. Blanchar/Agost (JSU), 6-1
3. Toledo/Briggs (BEL) vs. Vallejo/Tomac (JSU), 6-5 (unfinished)
Singles
1. Ilic (BEL) def. Vallejo (JSU), 7-5, 7-5
2. Toledo (BEL) def. Tomac (JSU), 6-4, 6-2
3. Norwood (JSU) def. Luis (BEL), 6-2, 7-6
4. Agost (JSU) def. Castro (BEL), 7-5, 6-3
5. Miyamoto (BEL) vs. Kaplja (JSU), 4-6, 6-7 (unfinished)
6. Wallin (BEL) def. Blanchar (JSU), 6-3, 6-2
