SUMTER, S.C. - Simon Malis claimed the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Southeast Region title this morning after the Flagler College men's tennis team competed at the ITA Southeast Regional tournament.

THE SERVE
Flagler competed at the annual ITA Southeast Regional tournament, held at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, S.C. Consisting of the regions elite, Flagler was represented by three singles players in the A draw (Malis, Artiom Dorofeev, Aly El Rafie) and four in the B draw (Oliver Hradilek, Filip Kana, Kenneth Rabinad Vila, Noah Paterson). In doubles, Malis/Dorofeev competed in the A draw while Paterson/Hradilek and Kana/Rabinad Vila competed in the B draw.

With this win, Simon Malis becomes the second Saint in the D2 era to win the Southeast Regional tournament. "I'm really happy to win the Southeast Regional title," said Malis, "It means a lot to me, and I'm proud to represent Flagler". In his previous tournament appearances, Malis' furthest advancement was the semifinal of last years tournament. "It was a tough matchup, and I'm glad I was able to stay focused, compete hard, and get the win. I'm thankful for my coaches and teammates for their support throughout the season".

"Great finish in singles for Simon and we are very happy for him," head coach Jonas Piibor said. "He played a very good match today in front of our team who supported him well. I know Simon has big goals this year for himself and the team".

DAY ONE
Heading into the tournament, Flagler's full roster was represented. Malis[2], Dorofeev[4], El Rafie[9], Hradilek[2], Kana[3] and Rabinad Vila[6] were seeded in their respective draws on the singles side. In doubles, Malis/Dorofeev[1], Kana/Rabinad Vila[2] and Paterson/Hradilek[4] entered seeded.

The A flight Saints almost saw a near perfect day as each Malis, El Rafie won both their first two matches to moved to the round of 16. Dorofeev took his opening match over Middle Georgia State College's Zachariah Achour in dominat fashion, 6-0 and 6-2 to advance to the round of 32. In his second match of the day, Dorofeev fell in a tight match to Vitor Ferreira of Lenoir-Rhyne University, 6-3, 4-6 and 3-10.

Doubles started off hot for the Saints as two of the three teams won their opening matches. Top seeded Malis and Dorofeev handed David Negzaoui and Angelos Avgeris of Tusculum University a 8-6 loss to advance to the round of 16. Fourth seeded Paterson and Hradilek took down Anderson University's Wynn Shioi and Mihailo Nikic 8-4 to advance to the quarterfinal round.

DAY TWO
Saturday's singles matches opened with a dominant 6-2 and 6-1 victory for Malis over Martino Colabella of Wingate University. This was Malis's largest margin of victory this tournament. Facing sixth seeded Marcos Castellanos of Columbus State University, El Rafie took his match to a tight three sets before falling 5-7, 6-4 and 2-6. 

Doubles saw an eruption from Paterson and Hradilek to advance to the finals of the B flight. The first match of the day saw Paterson and Hradilek earn their largest margin of victory. In round two the Saints defeated Emmanuel College's Shumpei Kamiyama and Aleksandar Simonvski 8-2. In semifinal round the duo had a hard fought, 9-8(7-3) victory over Francis Marion's Diego Vega and Juan Ignacio Morresi to advance to the finals.

DAY THREE
Two matches were played on Sunday for Malis. Earning his first win of the day, Malis defeated his first seeded opponent of the tournament, eighth seeded Luca Bergonzi, 6-3 and 6-2. In the semifinal round, Malis faced fifth seeded Daniel Hammond of Columbus State University. After smothering the Cougar 6-1 in set one, Malis dropped a tight 4-6 set two. To bounce back and head to the finals, Malis took set three 7-6(7-4).

Flight B's finale for Paterson and Hradilek was an intense and well fought bout. The pair fell to University of North Georgia's Janos Varga and Juan Cruz Blanco Cauterucci, 8-4.

DAY FOUR
The finals matched saw Flagler face current No. 11 and top seeded Harry Pugh of Lander University. Malis showed intense focus as he handily upset the Bearcat in two 6-3 sets.

KEY NOTES & STATS

• Simon Malis won the ITA Southeast Region for the first time in his career.
• Simon Malis is the second Saint in program history to win the Southeast Region (Denitto '22).
• Flagler has advanced past the regional tournament in three of the last four years.
• Senior Aly El Rafie had his furthest advancement at the tournament in her career, round of 16.
• The seven Saints representing Flagler in singles ties the most amount competing at this tournament ('24).
• Flagler had two Saints in Kenneth Rabinad Vila and Artiom Dorofeev compete for the first time at this tournament.
• Noah Paterson and Oliver Hradilek are the first Saints to advance to the finals of doubles play.