SURPRISE, Ariz. - The NCAA DII Championship journey for the UIndy men's tennis team ended Wednesday with a semifinal loss to the No. 2 Barry University. The Hounds finished the season with a 19-4 record after the 4-0 loss, capturing a Midwest Region title on the way to the team's first-ever final Four appearance.

"It was a very close match," Head Coach Malik Tabet noted. "With two tiebreaks in doubles, it could've gone either way." 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles kicked off with close matches across the board. Tom Zeuch and Yoann Viel fell to the Barry pair, 6-3. Pedro Franca and Nikolaj Talimaa would push their opponents to the brink but eventually fall themselves, 7-5. Renato Lima and Maxamilian Witthaus did not finish their match. 

Singles would hold the trend of close contests. The No. 1 singles player in the country, Alessandro Giuliato, would defeat Lima to kick off the action, putting the Hounds down 2-0. Zeuch tried to avenge his senior teammate but would lose in straight sets 7-6, 6-4.

And to end the match, it was the freshman Viel. Both sets would go into extra games, but it was the Buccaneers that earned the fourth and final point, 7-6, 7-6, and advance to the NCAA Division II ffinal.

"I'm very proud of my players," shared Tabet. "They fought hard."

Talimaa, Dominik Koenig, and Franca did not finish their matches. 

The conclusion of this match marks the end of the season for the Hounds, one highlighted by success after success over top teams. They progressed early in the spring to the ITA DII Indoor Championships final, where they would capture wins against two top-10 teams en route to a second-place finish. Over the rest of the season, the Hounds would notch several top rankings, with Renato Lima and Tom Zeuch highlighting the Hounds in singles and Lima and fellow-senior Agustin Gascia hitting No. 2 in doubles. 

"We have a young team. We'll be back," Tabet added.