UC-SANTA CRUZ AND EMORY ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

ST. LOUIS, MO. (May 16) – Top-ranked University of California-Santa Cruz and third-ranked Emory University advanced to the national championship match with a pair of semifinal wins on Wednesday at the 2007 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship in St. Louis, Mo. UC-Santa Cruz defeated fifth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus University, 5-0, and Emory outlasted third-ranked Middlebury College, 5-4, to advance to the NCAA final, which will be played at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 17.

UC-Santa Cruz (20-5) cruised through doubles play against Gustavus Adolphus (27-9). Matt Seeberger and Max Ortiz won 8-4 at No. 1 to secure the sweep. Max Liberty-Point and Bryan Pybas held on for an 8-6 win at No. 2, and Jared Kamel and Mark Vartabedian rolled to an 8-2 win at No. 3.

In singles play, Ortiz gave UC-Santa Cruz a 4-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 5. Pybas clinched the match at No. 3 with a comfortable 6-0, 6-2 victory. UC-Santa Cruz, which has won five titles (including the 2005 crown) will make its 11 th national championship match appearance.

In the other semifinal, Emory (22-8) and Middlebury went back-and-forth in an intense doubles competition. At No.'s 2 and 3, Emory was down a break but rallied to tie both matches. However, Middlebury's Kevin Bergesen and Andrew Thompson held on for an 8-6 win at No. 2. The No. 3 match eventually ended up in a tiebreaker, which MC's Filip Marinkovic and Conrad Olson won 9-8 (7). EU's Michael Goodwin and Yoji Masuoka earned an 8-4 victory at No. 1.

Trailing 2-1, Goodwin leveled the match for Emory by winning 6-2, 6-1 at first singles. Bergesen gave Middlebury the 3-2 lead with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Hardly Ehlers at No. 4, but the Eagles responded to knot the match after Lopp posted a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory at No. 3 over George Mayer.

Middlebury (20-2) took the lead back as Marinkovic posted a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Michael Kaufman at No. 6 singles. Emory, the 2006 national champion, would not go away as Mark Boren pulled out a hard-fought 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) victory at No. 5 over Andrew Thompson to even the match.

The berth to the national championship match came down to the three set, four hour and three minute marathon between Olson and Masuoka at No. 2. Olson won the first set 6-4, but Masuoka rallied for a 7-6 (7-1) victory in the second set to knot the match. Olson led 5-3 in the final set, before Masuoka reeled off four-straight games for the 7-5 victory.

In addition to the national championship match between UC-Santa Cruz and Emory, Middlebury and Gustavus Adolphus will square off in the third-place match Thursday at Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park, where Washington University in St. Louis is serving as host of the Championships.