Tyler battles to win third straight DI national title
The 2021 NJCAA DI Men's Tennis Championship saw Tyler (TX) put together a dominant performance where they mathematically clinched the title on the fourth day of the tournament in Plano, TX. This marks the third consecutive men's tennis national championship for the Apaches and their 17th title in school history. Tyler won with a total of 48 points, with Cowley (KS) coming in second place at 39 points and Seward County (KS) rounds out the top-3 with 37.
Apaches three-peat
Tyler, as a team, showed consistency in every event. The Apaches won four out of the six singles flights while also winning the No. 2 doubles flight.
Jaycer Lyeons took home the No. 1 singles title for Tyler as he defeated Jack Clements of Cowley by a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 final. Lyeons also brought home a second place finish in No. 1 doubles with teammate Yassir Kilani. The duo of sophomore Ryo Minakata and freshman Alan Magadan won the No. 2 doubles flight title while each individually winning a singles flight championship. Yassir Kilani also won the No. 6 singles flight title over Seward's Enzo Frequelin by a 6-2, 6-1 final.
Just two weeks ago, Tyler's women's tennis team won the DI Women's Tennis Championship. Now the men's team follows in their footsteps as each continue to dominate the sport.
Tigers show strong performance and finish in second
Though Cowley came up just short, they put together a great week of tennis. Their second place finish is their third straight top-5 finish after finishing in fourth place in 2018, 2019 respectively. This also ties their highest DI finish since 1974, where they finished second.
Sophomore Jack Clements put together an incredible week for the Tigers, finishing in second place in No. 1 singles. He, alongside freshman Takeshi Taco, won No. 1 doubles in one of the most competitive matches of the tournament by a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 final. Taco also earned the No. 2 singles title in a close 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 match over Cash Hanzlik of Tyler. Freshman Andoni Garmendia earned the No. 5 singles title after a strong 7-6(5), 6-0 win. Cowley
Seward County earns third place finish
Seward County finished in third place with a total of 37. Enzo Frequelin put together an impressive tournament, where he earned a second place finish in the No. 6 singles flight and a second place finish with duo Kyllian Savary in No. 2 flight doubles.
The Saints also saw sophomore Juan Gonzalez finish in second place No. 4 flight singles and sophomore Martins Abamu earn a second place finish in No. 5 singles.
Eastern Florida State makes history
The doubles team of Tomas Reche and Bernardo Viera played in the No. 3 doubles flight made history for the Titans this week. They won the first tennis national championship in Eastern Florida State history when they defeated Jeff Guerrero and Cash Hanzlik of Tyler 6-2, 6-4.
The Titans also saw sophomore Mikar Fisher take home a second place finish in No. 3 singles. This was the first Titan in school history to play for a singles national title. As a team, Eastern Florida State took home a fourth place finish
