Men's Tennis | 10/14/2021 5:30:00 PM

MOUNT BERRY, Ga.  Methodist sophomore Jordan Theron on Thursday advanced to the semifinals of the Division III men's singles Intercollegiate Tennis Association Cup held in Mount Berry, Georgia.

Qualifiers for the ITA Cup, formerly known as the Small College Nationals, are comprised of the nine singles and doubles fall regional champions, as well as the championship finalists in the Central, Midwest, Northeast, New England, South, Southeast and West regionals.

Theron began the first round by squaring off against the No. 2 seed Cameron Krimbill (Trinity, Texas). After Theron won the first set 6-2, Krimbill flipped the score and won the second set by the identical 6-2 count to tie the match at one set apiece.

Theron closed out the victory with a dominating 6-0 third set to advance into the quarterfinal round.

The next round saw Theron versus Moses Hutchison (University of Mary Washington), in what proved to be an even match.

With the first set tied 6-6, the two players went to a tiebreaker to decide the set before Theron prevailed, 7-6(3), to go up a set.

The second set was also decided by a tiebreaker, as Theron clinched the set, and match, by a score of 7-6(2).

Of the top four seeded players in the 16-player national bracket, only the third seed Chase Cohen (Williams (Mass.) College) made it to the semifinals. Unlike Krimbill, the No. 1 seed James Hopper (Case Western Reserve) and 4-seed Robert Liu (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps) won their first round matches. Both, though, would fall in the next round, with Hopper retiring by injury and Liu losing in three sets.

The semifinals will take place Friday morning, when Theron plays Cohen, at 9 a.m.