Williamsburg, KY – The No. 22 Cumberlands men's tennis team used a strong finish to emerge victorious over No. 12 Cumberland University on Saturday. The 5-2 win over the Phoenix gives UC sole possession of first place in the Mid-South Conference with one game left on the schedule.

The Pheonix grabbed the early 1-0 lead, taking two of the three doubles matches. Liam Savio and Gabriele Solda were the only doubles pairing to pick up a win for the Pats, defeating Dan Slapnik Trost and Adrijan Hrzic 6-4 at the #3 spot.

Cumberland took the first singles match at the #1 spot to extend the Pheonix advantage to 2-0.

Hung Ju Wu earned the first point for the Patriots to cut the deficit to 2-1. Wu defeated Adrijan Hrzic 6-3, 6-2 at the #3 spot.

After falling behind 6-0, 3-0 at the #2 spot, Killian Surmont battled back to power his way to a victory. The sophomore won the second set 7-5 and secured the match with a 6-3 win in set three.

Liam Savio followed that up with a win at #4 singles to put the Pats ahead for the first time in the contest. Savio defeated Julian Parada in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

Pierluigi Cruypennick secured the victory for the Patriots in a tough three-set match at the #5 spot. After falling in the first set 6-1, Cruypenninck picked up 6-3 and 6-2 wins in the set two and three, to earn the victory over German Suarez.

Lucas Augotr closed the day with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 over Paul-Daniel Meyer at #6 singles to cement the 5-2 victory for the Cumberlands.

The Patriots return to action on Friday, April 6^th, hosting Bethel at the UC Tennis Complex. UC will honor six seniors in the final match of the regular season.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.