FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 19, 2024) – The University of North Alabama men's tennis team advanced to the semifinal round of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship for the second time in Division I history in a 4-2 triumph over No. 5 Lipscomb on Friday evening in Fort Myers, Fla.
 
UNA's 2024 spring season continues to be a memorable one, as the second meeting between the Lions and the Bisons this season proved to be a competitive bout. Lipscomb took the early lead with the doubles point, but the Lions came marching back with four singles wins out of five completed matches. North Alabama avenged 4-3 regular season defeat to earn the program's first win over Lipscomb in a postseason match.
 
This marks the second straight season UNA has advanced to the semifinal round, as the Lions earned a 4-1 win over Queens in the first round last season.
 
The Lions have now won seven of their last 10 matches – all coming in ASUN play. The win improved UNA's record to 16-7 overall while finishing 6-3 in the ASUN. Lipscomb's season comes to an end at 11-12 overall and 5-5 in the ASUN.
 
Four Lions won on the day, led by junior Nazar Fedoryshyn and sophomore Federico Scotuzzi. The pair opened with UNA's lone doubles win before taking singles contests from their respective flights. Freshman Birtan Duran added a singles win for his team-leading 16th victory of the season, while freshman Alberto Altur's singles win from flight four clinched the postseason win.
 
Fedoryshyn and Scotuzzi struck first with a 6-0 win from flight two – the pair's ninth win of the season. Lipscomb took the third flight, 6-2, setting up the first flight to decide the point. Duran and Altur fought back from a 0-3 deficit to tie at 4-4, but the Bisons' top flight saw the match out with a 6-4 win.
 
Duran avenged his doubles loss with UNA's first singles win, defeating Juan Dominguez Collado, 6-3, 6-2. Altur did the same from flight four, giving the Lions a 2-1 advantage with his 6-3, 6-3 victory over Matheus Lima. The Bisons tied the match with a flight two win, but it served as Lipscomb's only singles win in the dual.
 
North Alabama regained the lead with a clutch sixth-flight victory from Scotuzzi over Facundo Perlov, 6-2, 6-2. The final two matches came down to competitive bouts from Fedoryshyn and Lachlan Brain. Fedoryshyn rallied from a set down to force a third, while Brain earned a 7-6 first-set win via a 7-4 tiebreaker. In the end, it was Fedoryshyn clinching from flight five, defeating Carlos Salas Tulla, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
 
Brain's match versus Krzysztof Wetoszka went unfinished due to the clinching point. The two battled to a 5-5 tie in set two.
 
The Lions face No. 1 North Florida on Saturday, April 20, in the semifinal of the ASUN Tournament. First serve against the Ospreys will be at 4 p.m. CT.
 
North Alabama 4, Lipscomb 2
 
Doubles
1. Krzystof Wetoszka/Juan Dominguez Collado (LU) def. Alberto Altur/Birtan Duran (UNA), 6-4
2. Nazar Fedoryshyn/Federico Scotuzzi (UNA) def. Carlos Salas Tulla/Facundo Perlov (LU), 6-0
3. Henrique Ushizima/Matheus Lima (LU) def. Lachlan Brain/Izan Orgiles (UNA), 6-2
 
Singles
1. Lachlan Brain (UNA) vs. Krzystof Wetoszka (LU), 7(7)-6(4), 5-5, unfinished
2. Henrique Ushizima (LU) def. Izan Orgiles (UNA), 6-0, 6-3
3. Birtan Duran (UNA) def. Juan Dominguez Collado (LU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Alberto Altur (UNA) def. Matheus Lima (LU), 6-3, 6-3
5. Nazar Fedoryshyn (UNA) def. Carlos Salas Tulla (LU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
6. Federico Scotuzzi (UNA) def. Facundo Perlov (LU), 6-2, 6-2
 
 
Match Notes
North Alabama 16-7
Lipscomb 11-12
 
Order of Completion: Doubles (2,3,1) Singles (3,4,2,6,5)
 
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