Rattlers outlast WNMU to advance to NCAA championships

By Chad Peters | St. Mary's Athletics Communications

SAN ANTONIO — St. Mary's Men's Tennis is headed to the NCAA Division II national championships for the first time in school history.

The No. 20-ranked Rattlers defeated No. 22 Western New Mexico 5-2 in Saturday's South Central Region I match at Rohrbach Stadium, moving on to the Round of 16, held May 9-12 in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

Senior Michael Maciel (Sugar Land, Texas) provided the clinching point in a hard-fought match, overcoming a first-set defeat to win 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 singles.

"This means the world for me and the program," said Maciel, one of the team's captains. "The seniors have been here for four years. It's been our goal. It's very sweet to finally achieve that."

The day started with the Mustangs grabbing a 2-1 lead in doubles, offsetting the dominant, 8-1 victory Maciel and doubles partner Jose Antelo (So., Bolivia) posted at No. 2 with a pair of 9-8 triumphs at No. 1 and 3.

But the Rattlers rebounded strongly in singles, taking first-set victories in five of the six matches. Incidentally, Maciel suffered the only first-set loss — but he more than made up for it by with a historical victory.

"I came out a little nervous in the first set," Maciel said. "It kind of showed in the score. But when I saw the rest of the team and their scores in the first set, it kind of relaxed me."

Fellow senior Adam Dockery (Wichita Falls, Texas) led that charge in easing Maciel, roaring to a quick 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 4. That evened the overall match 2-2, and it wasn't long thereafter that Jeremiah Gonzalez (Fr., Harlingen, Texas) and Antelo reeled off back-to-back victories to put the Rattlers (18-6) in the lead, 4-2.

It created an electric scene at Rohrbach Stadium as fans switched back and forth between Courts 1, 5 and 6 to see which Rattler could, or would, punch the team's ticket to nationals.

Maciel stepped forward as the man to do it, but not before valiant performances had both Alex Joseph (No. 5) and Richard Foley (No. 6) on the brink of victory themselves.

Joseph (Fr., Colleyville, Texas) locked in a 5-5 tie in the third set following a score line of 6-1, 4-6 over the first two sets, while Foley (Sr., Virginia, County Cavan, Ireland) also was deadlocked at 5-5 after winning Set 1, 6-3, and dropping Set 2, 3-6.

The four-hour match marked the Rattlers' 11th straight victory.

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Players Mentioned

Jose Antelo: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Adam Dockery: 5' 8"; Senior

Richard Foley: 6' 2"; Senior

Michael Maciel: 5' 7"; Senior

Jeremiah Sanchez: 5' 9"; Freshman

Alex Joseph: 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Jose Antelo
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Adam Dockery
: 5' 8"; Senior

Richard Foley
: 6' 2"; Senior

Michael Maciel
: 5' 7"; Senior

Jeremiah Sanchez
: 5' 9"; Freshman

Alex Joseph
: 5' 10"; Freshman

St. Mary's University Athletics

Scoreboard

Rattlers outlast WNMU to advance to NCAA championships

Players Mentioned

Jose Antelo

Adam Dockery

Richard Foley

Michael Maciel

Jeremiah Sanchez

Alex Joseph

Players Mentioned

Jose Antelo

Adam Dockery

Richard Foley

Michael Maciel

Jeremiah Sanchez

Alex Joseph

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