SURPRISE, Ariz. - No. 4 (ITA Division II Top 50) and six-seed Flagler College upset No. 12-ranked and No. 3-seed, Lubbock Christian University 4-0 this afternoon to advance to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II National Championship at the Surprise Tennis & Raquet Complex.
From today's win, Flagler earned its third final four bid in the Division II era and advanced to a 22-4 record. The 22 wins tied the program record for most wins in a season which was previously set during their NCAA Championship appearance in 2024. On Saturday, the Saints will face No. 1 and second-seed University of West Florida at 12 p.m.
The dominance of No. 30
Ilian Borlee and
Simon Malis continues to blossom as the pair earned another crucial upset. Facing No. 8Â Mattia Ghedin and Kelly Giese, the Saints won their match 6-3 to push Flagler into singles play. The first win of the day came from
Aniss Rafiq and
Oliver Hradilek who took down Marco Seccia and Andrea RossiPrincipe, 6-1.
In singles play, the Saints faced four ranked Chaps, the most since Flagler's 6-1 win over No. 8 Washburn University on Mar. 7. Hradilek opened play off with a 6-1 and 6-3 win over Hayden Loffler. In two 6-3 sets, No. 35 Rafiq upset No. 20 Segura. While playing at court two, Rafiq is undefeated in his five matches, two of which came against ranked opponents. To send the Saints over the Chaps, No. 73
Aly El Rafie earned his first ranked win since the match on Mar. 7. The Cairo, Egypt native upset No. 31Â Andres De Los Rios, 6-1 and 7-5.
Prior to the stoppage, court one was approaching a win for Flagler. In their third set, No. 17 Malis was up 4-1 against No. 4 Giese.
