ORLANDO, Fla. — Illinois Tech Men's Tennis (6-5) pulled off a thrilling 4-3 victory over UW-La Crosse (11-4) on Thursday at the USTA National Campus. The Scarlet Hawks clinched the pivotal doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 slots.The win over the Eagles secured a 3-0 Florida trip for the Scarlet Hawks.

How It Happened

Illinois Tech set the stage by capturing the doubles point. At No. 3 doubles, Pol Dueso Guell and Tejas Sheth dominated with a 6-1 win against Cole Contardi and Alex Aranda. Meanwhile, Tanay Sharma and Alexander Feher secured a 6-3 victory over Jack Hehli and Tyler Schneider at No. 1 doubles. The Eagles did manage to take No. 2 doubles, as Kyle Hehli and Aiden Meixl edged out Pedro Roca and Hozumi Tada 7-6(7).

In singles play, Dueso Guell got the Scarlet Hawks rolling with a solid 6-4, 6-1 victory over Contardi at No. 4 singles. The Eagles countered when Kyle Hehli downed Feher 7-6, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. Roca then put Illinois Tech back in front with a nail-biting 6-1, 2-6, 12-10 win over Meixl at No. 2 singles.

The intensity continued as Joseph Au delivered another point for Illinois Tech with a 7-6, 6-1 triumph over Brady Horstmann at No. 6 singles. The Eagles fought back with Schneider defeating Sharma 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, and Luke Hinchcliffe squeezing past Tada 4-6, 6-4, 12-10 at No. 5 singles. The match wrapped up with a hard-fought split in singles, showcasing an exciting finish.

Doubles  

Tanay Sharma/Alexander Feher (Illinois Tech) def. Jack Hehli/Tyler Schneider (UWL) 6-3  
Kyle Hehli/Aiden Meixl (UWL) def. Pedro Roca/Hozumi Tada (Illinois Tech) 7-6(7-2)  
Pol Dueso Guell/Tejas Sheth (Illinois Tech) def. Cole Contardi/Alex Aranda (UWL) 6-1  

Singles  
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Tyler Schneider (UWL) def. Tanay Sharma (Illinois Tech) 6-1, 6-3  
Pedro Roca (Illinois Tech) def. Aiden Meixl (UWL) 6-1, 2-6, 1-0 (12-10)  
Kyle Hehli (UWL) def. Alexander Feher (Illinois Tech) 7-6, 6-1  
Pol Dueso Guell (Illinois Tech) def. Cole Contardi (UWL) 6-4, 6-1  
Luke Hinchcliffe (UWL) def.  Hozumi Tada (Illinois Tech) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (12-10)  
Joseph Au (Illinois Tech) def. Brady Horstmann (UWL) 7-6, 6-1  

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

Pol Dueso Guell
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- 1 singles win
- 1 doubles win

Alexander Feher
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- 1 doubles win

Pedro Roca
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- 1 singles win

Joseph Au
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- 1 singles win

Tanay Sharma
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- 1 doubles win

Game Notes:
- This matchup marked the first-ever meeting between the Scarlet Hawks and the Eagles.

Up Next
Illinois Tech heads to an away match against Lakeland University on Saturday, March 28 at noon at the Lakeland University Tennis Courts in Plymouth, Wisconsin.