ST. AUGUSTINE - The No. 4 (ITA Division II Top 50) Flagler College men's tennis team pushed past No. 31 Belmont Abbey College, 4-2,  to advance in the NCAA Division II preliminary round this morning at the Pollard Tennis Center.

The Saints improved to 20-2 overall. This is the 21st time in the program's history that the Saints have won 20 or more matches in one season. No. 8-seed Belmont Abbey finishes its season with a 22-17 record. The Saints will continue to make their way towards the national tournament field as they take on No. 19 Columbus State University at 3 p.m.

In doubles, the Saints were slow to get moving as they were only able to pull out one win. The only ranked pair for the Saints, No. 19 Ilian Borlee and Simon Malis, defeated Charlie Fremaux and Issac Buerkle 6-4.

The Saints regained their footing in singles, with No. 31 Malis taking the first win. Against Fremaux, Malis won in straight sets 6-4 and 6-1. To give the Saints the lead, Makary Adamek rolled over Tim Stemler. Adamek swept Stemler in both sets, 6-0. Adding to the comeback, Borlee defeated Peru Bayo 6-4 and 6-2. The finishing blow was dealt by Filip Kana against Nicholas Cary in three sets. Kana took set one 6-2 but dropped a close 7-5 second. Bouncing back, Kana took set three 6-2 to clinch the match against the Crusaders.