ARLINGTON, Texas– The UT Arlington men's tennis team (15-7) took down No. 5 seed UTRGV 5-0 in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament on Friday at the Arlington Tennis Center.
 
The victory gave the Mavericks a spot in the finals Saturday, where they will face the No. 2 seeded Abilene Christian at noon. In their only regular season matchup, the Mavericks defeated the Wildcats 5-2.
 
The semifinal doubles point came down to Court 3, with the Mavericks securing the win in a tiebreaker.
 
Court 1 fell first, with Emilien Burnel and Borna Devald of the Vaqueros winning by two games (7-5) over Anton Shepp and Solano Caffarena to go ahead in doubles play.
 
The Mavericks were quick to respond, taking another close match on Court 2. First Team All-WAC doubles pair Santiago Giamichelle and Dante Teramo won by a break of serve over Karlo Krolo and Te Kani Williams, 6-4, to even the doubles score.
 
The early advantage came down to a tiebreaker on Court 3, with freshmen duo Lachlan Robertson and Joan Torres Espinosa finishing victorious. Chris Lawrance and Sam Whitehead stayed close, forcing the tiebreaker at 6-6. Robertson and Espionsa allowed the Vaqueros four points before closing out the set 7-6 and the tiebreaker 7-4.
 
The Mavericks carried the doubles momentum into singles play, ending the match with a simultaneous clinch to complete the sweep.
 
Shepp continued his dominant season on Court 1, starting off singles play with a straight-set win for the Mavericks. After taking the first set 6-3, he closed out the second set in a similar manner, winning 6-2. The victory gave him his fifteenth win of the season and pushed his winning streak to four consecutive matches.
 
WAC Freshman of the Year Giamichelle was next off on Court 2, earning another straight-set win to put the Mavericks one point away from victory. In the first set, he allowed Devald two games before closing out the set 6-2. Devald kept the second set close, but Giamichelle was too much to overcome, taking the final set 6-4. Giamichelle extended his winning streak to six matches and moved to 13-5 on the season, having yet to lose to a conference opponent.
 
Needing one more match to clinch to secure a spot in the championship on Saturday, Caffarena finished his match on Court 3 with a win over Krolo to earn a share in the final point. Both sets came down to two games, with Caffarena closing out both 6-4, 6-4. The First Team All-WAC selection continued his winning streak with his sixth consecutive victory, and he remains undefeated against conference opponents.
 
Espinosa won the final point of his match against Lawrance on Court 6 just seconds after Caffarena finished his match, earning the simultaneous clinch for the Mavericks. The freshman played two close sets, edging out the victory by two games in each, 6-4, 6-4. In the final set, he took a 5-1 lead before his UTRGV counterpart won the next three to avoid the clinch, at least temporarily.
 
Robertson and Teramo did not get to finish their matches as the Mavericks had already clinched. Robertson was up 3-0 in the third set against Agustin Salazar on Court 4, and Teramo was up one set but down 5-4 in the second against Whitehead on Court 5.
 
 
UT Arlington 5, UT Rio Grande Valley 0
Singles

1. Anton Shepp (UTA) def. Emilien Burnel (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-2
2. Santiago Giamichelle (UTA) def. Borna Devald (UTRGV) 6-2, 6-4
3. Solano Caffarena (UTA) def. Karlo Krolo (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-4
4. Unfinished
5. Unfinished
6. Joan Torres Espinosa (UTA) def. Chris Lawrance (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-4
   Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 6

Doubles

1. Emilien Burnel/Borna Devald (UTRGV) def. Anton Shepp/Solano Caffarena (UTA) 7-5
2. Santiago Giamichelle/Dante Teramo (UTA) def. Karlo Krolo/Te Kani Williams (UTRGV) 6-4
3. Lachlan Robertson/Joan Torres Espinosa (UTA) def. Chris Lawrance/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) 7-6 (4) 
   Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3

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