SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word men's tennis team competed in the 2024 Southland Conference tennis championship match on Saturday afternoon against No. 2 New Jersey Institute of Technology. The No. 1 Cardinals fell, 3-4, against the Highlanders in a match that came down to the wire.
 
Emilio Vila and Andoni Garmendia were each named to the Southland All-Tournament Team following their performances.
 
After winning the regular season with an undefeated record (4-0) in SLC play, UIW came into the tournament as the No. 1 seed and had a bye in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, UIW defeated Lamar University 5-2 to advance to the Championship.
 
Against Lamar, UIW took the doubles point behind 7-5 victories at both the No. 1 and the No. 2 spot. Vila took down his opponent at the No. 3 line 6-4, 6-3, while Arnau Miralles also cruised to a victory at the No. 5 line (6-1, 6-2). Garmendia fought through a 9-7 tiebreaker in set one before winning 6-0 in set two. Noah DeLuna persevered through three sets to secure the win.
 
In the championship match against the No. 2 Highlanders, UIW went down 1-0 at the end of the doubles matches. The Cardinals didn't back down, winning the singles matches at No. 3,4, and 5 leaving the game down to court one with losses at lines two and six. Joao Sasso took set one, 6-4, and lost the final two, despite battling for each point as the Cardinals took home second at the 2024 SLC Men's Tennis Tournament.

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