Box Score
MARSHALL, Texas – LeTourneau University men's tennis team downed rival East Texas Baptist University, 5-4, Thursday in a final set thriller.
Miles Grubbs' phenomenal win over ETBU's Dalton Barron, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 at No. 6 singles lifted LeTourneau to a 5-4 win over East Texas Baptist. Grubbs' triumph broke a 4-4 tie in an intense battle between the rivals.
Jonah McGinty also composed a dynamic victory at No. 5 singles to help the YellowJackets clinch the match. McGinty defeated Randal Lemmon, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 to tie the match up at 4-4.
The YellowJackets trailed after doubles, 2-1. Grubbs and McGinty tallied the only point for LETU when they defeated Adam Morris and Christian Dubec, 8-6, at the No. 3 position. ETBU's John Herr and Joseph Salinas beat Rodrigo Vasquez and
Patrick Baney, 8-4, at the top flight. At the No. 2 slot, Barron and Noah Smistad defeated
Alex Barrero and
Gavin Meyer, 8-3.
Vazquez tied the match at 2-2 when he beat Salinas, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), at No. 1 singles. Baney fell to Herr, 6-3 in the first set, before beating Herr, 6-2 in the following set, ultimately falling, 7-5 in the deciding set. The Tigers reclaimed the lead, 3-2. ETBU added more cushion to their lead after Meyer lost to Morris, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 3 singles.
Barrero's win over Smistad, 7-5, 7-5, at No. 4 singles ignited the comeback for the YellowJackets, ultimately setting the stage for the thrilling victories of McGinty and Grubbs to win the match.
LETU improves to 11-3 overall and 4-0 in the American Southwest Conference.
LeTourneau will honor their seniors Saturday as they host their last regular season match of the season, taking on the University of Texas at Dallas in another important ASC matchup.
