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SURPRISE, Ariz. – A historic weekend in Surprise saw the No. 6 Flagler men win its first NCAA Division II Championship and the No. 3 Nova Southeastern women capture its second title in the past three seasons, capping off a thrilling tournament at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.
In order to win its third national championship, with the first two coming at the NAIA level (1977, 1986), Flagler had to fight past each of the top-three seeds in Surprise. They toppled No. 3 Lubbock Christian in the quarters (4-0) and No. 2 West Florida in the semis (4-2) before dethroning No. 1 Barry (4-3) in a back-and-forth championship match.
A 2-0 lead in Sunday’s final quickly vanished, as the top-seeded Buccaneers rallied to win the next three singles points to take a 3-2 edge. Flagler’s Simon Malis outlasted Barry’s Riccardo Trione in three sets on Court 1 (6-7, 6-1, 6-3) to even the match at 3-all, which paved the way for a dramatic finish on Court 4.
The Saints’ Aly El Rafie prevailed in the third-set tiebreaker over Thomas Machado (6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7-3)). Machado showed tremendous grit by erasing a 4-1 lead in the third set to tie it at 4-4, but El Rafie battled back to win the set and force the winner-takes-all tiebreaker. Exhausted and at times limping, El Rafie took a commanding 5-2 in the seven-point tiebreaker, and sealed the title moments later.
The championship-clinching win also snapped Flagler’s 23-match losing streak to the Buccaneers, as the school’s last win against the Bucs was Feb. 19, 1994, according to Flagler Athletics.
The Saints were a dominant force all week in Surprise, outscoring opponents 16-5 and recording sweeps in the opening two rounds over No. 11 Queens and No. 3 Lubbock Christian.
In the women’s title match, No. 3 Nova Southeastern battled back after dropping the doubles point to No. 4 Catawba and pieced together a controlling singles performance from top-to-bottom. The Sharks quickly took the lead with straight-sets singles victories on Courts 1 and 4 via Kristyna Hranacova and Noemie Dadoun, respectively. Jana Boegner doubles the Sharks’ lead on Court 5 before Katja Markus clinched it on Court 2.
The Sharks defeated No. 13 Slippery Rock in the opening round (4-1), No. 6 Augustana in the quarters (4-0), No. 2 Grand Valley State in the semis (4-2) and No. 4 Catawba in Saturday’s championship (4-1). Champions in two of the past three seasons, Nova Southeastern has now appeared in the title match in each of the last four years, as the Sharks have a firm grasp on their national powerhouse role under tenth-year head coach Doug Neagle.
It was a magical season for the Catawba Indians, whose only two losses this spring came at the hands of Nova Southeastern.
The NCAA Division II National Championships will return to the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex next spring, with the tournament set for May 18-23, 2027.
