KISSIMMEE, Fla. (March 8, 2026) – The University of Wisconsin-Superior rallied from a two-point deficit by taking four singles wins in three sets to claim a 4-3 victory over Emerson College in a non-conference men's tennis match at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Training Center this morning.

Highlights

• Senior Mateo Abarca Pino was a double-winner to lead Wisconsin-Superior to the comeback win.
• Senior Vitor Sakakibara, junior Yash Chhabra and freshman Adam Culp also contributed singles wins for the Yellow Jackets.
• Junior Filippo Nocchi and sophomore Connor Leung combined as double winners for Emerson at the top of its lineup.
• First years Adam Alireza and Caiden Riebold teamed up for a doubles win for Emerson as well.

How It Happened

• Emerson won two of the three doubles matches to earn the first point of the match with Alireza and Riebold clinching the point with their 6-4 victory at No. 2 after Nocchi and Leung had claimed a 6-2 win at No. 1.
• Leung followed with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 2 singles for Emerson against Wisconsin-Superior junior Sharan Kanugovi to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
• Pino and Culp evened the match as both rallied from a set down at No. 4 and No. 5 singles respectively.
• Nocchi nosed Emerson back in front 3-2 with his 3-6, 6-2, 10-8 comeback triumph at No. 1 singles against senior Igor Guetten Chaves.
• Chhabra again leveled the match for UWS with his tightly fought 4-6, 7-5, 11-9 win at No. 3 singles over Alireza.
• Sakakibara provided the match clinching point for the Yellow Jackets with his 5-7, 7-5, 10-8 comeback win over first year Tai Finestone at No. 5 singles.

Coach's Corner
"Tough loss and a great battle for the men today," said Emerson head coach Burke Paxton. "We came out strong in doubles and the first set of singles but faded a bit down the stretch. This is one of the closest matches I have ever coached, and the third set tiebreaks were insanely tight for everyone. I thought everyone fought hard. Credit to UW-Superior, they are a great team and were just a little more clutch down the stretch."

Up Next

Emerson (2-5, 0-0 NEWMAC) is right back on the courts tomorrow when it battles Albion College at 11:30 a.m., before a dual match against Northwestern State University-St. Paul at 4:30 p.m. Wisconsin-Superior (7-4, 0-0 WIAC) will play Loras College tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.

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