ST. LOUIS, Mo. --Â The No. 59 Wichita State men's tennis team advanced to the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Team Championships for the sixth-straight year with 4-2 semifinal win over UMBC, Saturday afternoon at the Dwight Davis Complex.
WSU (19-6) takes on No. 31 Drake, Sunday morning at 10 a.m. The pair of have gone head-to-head for the title in each of the last five MVC Tournaments. The winner earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Shockers dominated the doubles action against UMBC. The nationally-ranked team of Tomislav Gregurovic and Tin Ostojic (ITA No. 38) posted an 8-4 win, and Ilija Cuic and Guillermo de Vilchez teamed up for an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles to seal the dual's first point.
"Just an outstanding match," WSU head coach, Brad Louderback said. "Coach Hubbard is a great coach and had (UMBC) well-prepared. My hat is off to them. That's some of the best doubles we've played all year, one-through-three."
UMBC gained momentum with early wins at No. 1 and 6 singles. With Cuic's 7-5, 6-1 win at the No. 2 spot, the teams were knotted at 2-each with the final three matches all entering a deciding third set.
De Vilchez and Miroslav Herzan provided a pick-me-up for the Shockers with 6-3 wins at No. 4 and 5 to finish out the match.
"Willy and Ilija had fantastic matches, and then Miro finished off the win to get us our fourth point," Louderback said. "Now we can look forward to playing for a championship tomorrow."
 #59 Wichita State 4, UMBC 2
Apr 18, 2015 at St. Louis, Mo. (Dwight Davis Complex)
MVC Team Championships - Semifinal #2Â
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Singles Competition
1. Jaan Kononov (UMBC) def. #46
Tin Ostojic (WSU) 6-2, 6-0
2.
Ilija Cuic (WSU) def. Melker Svard (UMBC) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles Competition
Match Notes
UMBC 12-6
Wichita State 19-6; National ranking #59
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles ()
MVC Team Championships - Semifinal #2
T-2:43