Box Score ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Azusa Pacific came within a set of upsetting the No. 3 team in the country but ultimately fell against Texas-Tyler 4-3 in a 3.5-hour long fight in the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis National Championships quarterfinals on Wednesday evening at Sanlando Park.
 
Texas-Tyler had to come back from down a set in two singles matches to pull off an impressive comeback and end the Cougars' 2025 season in a stunning finish. Malo Poulesquen finished the Patriot's comeback with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles.
 
The Cougars finish the season with a 24-5 record after reaching the national quarterfinals for the fourth time in program history, which is the most by a PacWest team since 2017. Seniors Miha Velicki and Elias Emilio Walter concluded their decorated collegiate careers at Azusa Pacific with straight-set wins for the Cougars.
 
The Patriots had to come back in doubles as well as Job Japelj and Trevor Short won five games in a row to take No. 3 doubles, 7-5. Then a battle of two top-15 doubles teams in the nation tilted in favor of Texas-Tyler with Daniil Felker and Carel Wessel winning 7-3 in a tiebreaker.
 
That lead blossomed to 2-0 for the Patriots after No. 74 Jordi Garcia Portell won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6 singles, putting the Cougars in an early hole.
 
Velicki led the Cougars out of that hole as he came back from an early deficit in his match at No. 3 singles. After trailing 2-5, he broke back and evened the opening set of his match. Meanwhile, David James Brownlee, Joan Crespo, Walter, and Soeren Grandke each won the opening set of their singles matches for the Cougars.
 
That gave the Cougars the lead in five matches, needing to hold onto that lead in four of those courts. Felker and Poulesquen each came back in their singles matches to force a third set for the Patriots. On the top three courts, however, the Cougars remained in control.
 
Walter got the Cougars on the board with a dominant 6-1, 6-4 win over No. 17 Artiom Dorofeev, who had a 19-1 record on the season going into the match. It ended up being the final match of Walter's decorated collegiate career, and he finishes with a career record of 73-13 in singles. The two-time PacWest Player of the Year and ITA West Region Senior of the Year finishes his career as the ninth-winningest singles player in Azusa Pacific history and he has the seventh-best singles winning percentage.
 
Soeren Grandke then tied the match with his 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 7 Wessel. It is the second time this year that he has defeated a top-10 player in straight sets in as many matches, and he is now 5-0 in his career in singles matches in the NCAA postseason. He wraps up his sophomore season with a 26-2 singles record, which is the most wins by a Cougar since Sam Fletcher in 2005 when the Cougars won the NAIA National Championship.
 
Velicki then concluded his collegiate career with a win at No. 3 singles 7-5(5), 6-2. The four-time All-PacWest selection also won his doubles set 6-2 alongside Joan Crespo. He finishes the season with a 20-6 record in singles and 13-9 in doubles. He is the 17th Cougar in program history to collect at least 55 wins each in singles and doubles.
 
Velicki's win gave the Cougars a 3-2 lead as the final two matches went into a third set. Brownlee got out to a 3-0 lead, while Crespo initially trailed 0-3. Crespo came back and won four games in a row to take a 4-3 lead, but Brownlee's opponent also came back to take the lead for the Patriots at No. 4 singles. After three and a half hours of battling in the Florida heat, Texas-Tyler found a way to outlast Azusa Pacific and won both of those final sets, 6-4.
 
Texas-Tyler will go on to play No. 7 seed Washburn, coached by former Azusa Pacific assistant coach Kirby Ronning. The Ichabods pulled off a dramatic upset against No. 2 seed Barry, 4-3, to reach the semifinal round.