INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -
Ilian Borlee,
Filip Kana, and
Simon Malis won the last three matches as No. 2 (ITA Division II Top 25) Flagler College rallied to defeat No. 3 Saint Leo University, 4-3, in the fifth place match of the ITA Division II Indoor Championship Sunday afternoon at the UIndy Tennis Center.
Flagler improved to 3-1 while Saint Leo dropped to 3-2. Up next for the Saints is No. 15 University of Charleston (W.Va.), at 3 p.m. on Feb. 27 at the Pollard Tennis Center.
Down 3-1, Flagler was able to mount a comeback. Winning the first set 6-4, Borlee defeated Kodai Kato, 6-3, in the second set. Kana found himself in a tie-breaker after winning set one against Taiyo Hirano, 6-4. In the tiebreaker in set two, Kana and Hirano were tied 3-3 until Kana went on a four-point run to win 7-3.
It all came down to Malis and Jose David Segovia. They went into set three after each had won one of the first two sets. Malis clinched the win after finally pulling ahead when the match was tied 4-4.
No. 8
Baptiste Mercier started the campaign after a dominant 6-3, 6-1 win over Dylan Adrianaly.
