Men's Tennis | 9/24/2018 11:11:00 AM

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The youthful West Liberty University men's tennis team certainly made its presence felt as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Region championships wound down here Sunday afternoon.
    Sam McCullough's talented newcomers returned home with two singles titles and a doubles crown in the three-day event which included 75 players from 11 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region squads.
    Unseeded Anton Schulz, a sophomore transfer from Reinhardt (Ga.) University, made a big impression in his run to the B Flight singles.
    Schulz punched his ticket to the championship match by gutting out a come-from-behind 3-6 7-5 (10-8) semifinal win against Bluefield State's Carlos Thireau. The Hilltopper standout followed that off with a straight-set sweep of West Virginia Wesleyan's Sergio Garrido in the finals. Garrido had entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed overall.
    West Liberty freshman Akira Kawabata prevailed in the B Flight consolation singles. Kawabata outlasted UC senior Sean Cajas in a tiebreaker to get to the finals, which he claimed in a walkover against West Virginia Wesleyan senior Anthony Rames.
    Kawabata also teamed up with fellow frosh Nash Morris to claim the B Flight's consolation doubles crown. Morris and Kawabata knocked off Edinboro's senior tandem of Mateus Santos and Mauricio Santos by an 8-5 tally in the championship match.
    The Hilltoppers close out their abbreviated fall slate on Friday with a 3 p.m. match at Cedarville (Ohio.)