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The No. 39 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's tennis team advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history Saturday with a 5-1 victory against Kalamazoo (Mich.) in a second-round contest at Carlton Courts in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Warhawks (22-2 overall) will face No. 2 ranked Case Western Reserve, the regional host, on Sunday at 11 a.m. Central Time in the regional final for a trip to the NCAA Championships in Orlando, Fla.
UW-Whitewater took two of three doubles matches for a 2-1 advantage.
John Zakowski (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest) and
Alex Gray (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) were first on the board with an 8-4 triumph at No. 1 and were followed by
Ryan Mitchell (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) and
Niclas Goltz (Freiburg, Germany/Droste-Hülshoff-Gymnasium), who tallied an 8-4 win at No. 3.
The Hornets (14-8) took the final doubles match to send the dual into singles play. Play was moved indoors during singles to Medical Mutual Tennis Pavilion due to inclement weather.
Brendan Pietila (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead) started the Warhawks with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at the sixth position. Goltz was next on the board with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph at the fourth position.
Zakowski clinched the dual, claiming the first set by tiebreaker before closing the match strong in a 7-6, 6-1 win.
Rory Calabria (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) won his first set at No. 3 before his match was left unfinished, while Gray tied his match at one set apiece at No. 5 before the contest was abandoned.
Cole Lindwall (Cottage Grove, Wis./Monona Grove) led his second set 5-0 after dropping the first.
UW-Whitewater and Case Western Reserve last played on Feb. 23, 2013, when the Spartans defeated the Warhawks 6-3 in Greencastle, Ind.
