SAINT LOUIS, Mo. – A year ago, the Yellowjacket men's tennis team advanced to the UMAC championship match, where their pursuit of a second-straight trip to the NCAA tournament was derailed by a Greenville squad that was among the toughest matches the Yellowjackets played all season.
 
Fast forward a year, and the Yellowjackets were back at the UMAC Championships. For the second year in a row, they were the No. 1 seed from the UMAC North Division, and for the second year in a row they would meet Greenville, this time, however, they were playing them in the conference semifinals instead of the championship match.
 
A year ago, the Yellowjackets were downed by Greenville, 5-1. This time around, the result was the same, but the match was much more thrilling.
 
The Yellowjackets trailed after doubles play but stormed back in singles action to take a 4-2 lead and put themselves on the cusp of a win. Unfortunately, Greenville rallied and came from behind to defeat the Yellowjackets 5-4 at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center.

The thrilling, back-and-forth match will mark the final one of the season for the Yellowjackets.
 
Davide Pelletti (Prado, Brazil) and Sharan Kanugovi (Bangalore, Karnataka/New Baldwin International School), playing at the No. 2 position, got the lone doubles win for the Yellowjackets Friday. Pelletti and Kanugovi defeated Greenville's Clark Kent and Thibaut Tignee 8-2.
 
In singles action, Jacob Zacharias (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) rolled to a win at No. 6 singles, defeating Greenville's Santiago Jaimes Gudino 6-1, 6-1. Pelletti also earned a win in straight sets, defeating Jean Sanabria at No. 5 singles 6-4, 6-4.
 
Match Notes

• Kanugovi had to go the distance with Kent at No. 3 singles to get his win. He took the first set 6-2 before dropping the second 3-6. He rallied in the third to win 6-2 and give the Yellowjackets their fourth win of the day.
• Lucca Paladini (Blumenu, Brazil/Colegio Saber) dropped an exciting match at No. 4 singles. After losing the first set 4-6, he came back to win the second set 6-3 before losing the final set 3-6.
• At No. 2 singles, Igor Guetten Chaves (Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil/Colégio Adventista) lost his opening set 3-6, before opening up a small lead in the second set. Greenville's Rafael Rodriguez rallied, however, and took the second set, and ultimately the match, with a 7-6 win in the second set.
• Friday came down to No. 1 singles and it was another thriller. Ren Kurachi (Yokohama, Japan/Yokosuka Gakuin) lost his first set 3-6 before evening the match by taking the second set 6-4. In the end, Greenville's Andres Sanchez was too tough, winning the third set 6-3 to give Greenville the victory.
• Kanugovi's singles win was his team-leading 19th of the year.
• Zacharias improved to 13-6 in singles play.

The Yellowjackets finished the 2023-24 season with a record of 13-10.
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