OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men's tennis team defeated the No. 3 seeded University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos 4-2 in the semifinal round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Sunday at the Overland Park Racquet Club to move on to the championship match.
 
"Our family is resilient," Broncs head coach Brandon Stokes said. "I am so proud of the boys. We started at 10:47 p.m. and finished at 1:52 a.m. We played indoors against the home team with a raucous crowd that cheered against us and for their own team and our boys loved it. They embraced the challenge and raised their level of competitiveness."
 
The Broncs will face the No. 1 seeded New Mexico State Aggies later on today. The semifinal match was scheduled to be played at the Plaza Tennis Center but was moved indoors at the Overland Park Racquet Club due to heavy rains.
 
The Broncs (10-12) opened doubles with a win as the team of Juan Cruz Soria and Koby Jansen defeated Airam Castellano and Mike Psarros 8-3 on court one. After the Kangaroos (12-12) won on court two, the Broncs clinched the doubles point after the team of Nikola Crvelin and Elliot Johnstone defeated Conner Edwards and Phin Pham 8-7 on court three.
 
In singles, the Kangaroos knotted things up after picking up a win on court six. The Broncs answered at No. 3 singles as Jansen defeated Yihn Pham in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. Soria gave the Broncs the advantage after picking up the 6-2, 6-2 victory over Castellano on court one.
 
UMKC picked up another victory on court four but Miguel Alvarez-Hevia clinched the match for the Broncs and a spot in the championship match with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Edwards at the No. 5 spot.
 
"We earned the doubles point and finished with the singles," Stokes said. "We have made tremendous strides in one year but we came here on a mission and we are excited to go against the regular season champs."
 
The Broncs face the Aggies in the championship match at 2 p.m. at the Plaza Tennis Center for a chance to represent the WAC at the NCAA Championships.
 
Complete Results:
Doubles (1,2,3)
1. Juan Cruz Soria/Koby Jansen (UTPA) def. Airam Castellano/Mike Psarros (UMKC) 8-3
2. Uldis Gaismins/Andrey Smirnov (UMKC) def. Ethan Ammon/Hector Ramirez (UTPA) 8-6
3. Nikola Crvelin/Elliot Johnstone (UTPA) def. Conner Edwards/Vinh Pham (UMKC) 8-7 (4)
 
Singles (6,3,1,4,5)           
1. Juan Cruz Soria (UTPA) def. Airam Castellano (UMKC) 6-2, 6-2
2. Hector Ramirez (UTPA) vs. Andrey Smirnov (UMKC) 5-7, 6-6 unfinished
3. Koby Jansen (UTPA) def. Vinh Pham (UMKC) 6-4, 6-3
4. Uldis Gaismins (UMKC) def. Elliot Johnstone (UTPA) 6-0, 7-6 (8)
5. Miguel Alvarez-Hevia (UTPA) def. Conner Edwards (UMKC) 6-4, 7-5
6. Mike Psarros (UMKC) def. Ethan Ammon (UTPA) 6-1, 6-1

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