Men's tennis team has historic day at national tournament

The Eastern Florida State College men's tennis team made history on Wednesday as four singles players and one doubles team reached the semifinals of the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament in Plano, Texas.

The Titans are tied for fourth overall heading into the semifinal matches on Thursday.

Dario Kmet who is the No. 1 seed at No. 2 singles won his quarterfinal match 6-0, 6-0 and will play No. 4 seed Takeshi Taco of Cowley at 8 a.m.

Mikar Fisher beat Wallace State's Tristian De Plessis 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals at No. 3 singles. Fisher is the No. 2 seed and will play No. 3 seed Baptiste Mercier at 8 a.m. in the semifinals.

Ramiro Rincon also continued his strong play, defeating ABAC's Lorenzo Del Biondo 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinals at No. 4 singles. Rincon, the No. 4 seed, will play No. 1 seed Alan Magadan of Tyler at 8 a.m.

Sergio Gomez Boix also advanced to the semifinals, winning his match 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5 singles. The No. 1 seed in the bracket will play Seward's Martins Abamu at 8 a.m. in the semifinals.

The No. 3 doubles team of Tomas Reche and Bernardo Vieria won two matches on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals, opening the day with a 6-1, 6-1 win and then defeating a team from USC Sumter in the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-0. They will play Cowley's Carlos Castillo and Andoni Garmendia at 11 a.m.

Jaewoo Choi lost in the quarterfinals at No. 6 singles, falling to No. 3 seed Javi Pla in three sets as Choi took the first set 7-5, lost the second 6-0 and then battled in the third, falling 7-5. The No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams also lost in the quarterfinals.

Tyler Junior College is leading the tournament after three days and is just five points ahead of the Titans heading into the semifinals. The finals are scheduled for Friday morning.