Tuscaloosa, Ala – For the first time in program history, a duo from Lincoln Memorial Men's Tennis competed in the ITA National Championship tournament, as Radu Florea and Jakub Hrášek netted a win in three matches in the doubles national championship meet. 

The pairing opened the tournament with a resounding first round victory, earning a bid into the East Region Round of 16 thanks to a sweep against opponents from Grand Valley State. Things were all Splitters from the jump, as the duo of Florea and Hrasek ran away with an early 6-2 lead in the opening round, before a closer match in round two ended with a Splitters run, securing the sweep and a bid to face the top-seeded pairing in the region.  

The next round proved a challenge for the Railsplitters. LMU fought early, as Florea and Hrasek scored tough points on the top-ranked pairing in the tournament, but their opponents from Midwestern State proved to be too much in the end, taking both sets from the Splitters and forcing LMU into the North Region Quarterfinal.  

It would be another matchup vs a ranked opponent for the duo from Harrogate, but the Railsplitters forced a decisive third-set thanks to two well fought 6-4 sets, with LMU taking the second to stay alive. Despite the surge from Lincoln Memorial, their opponents from Nebraska-Kearney found a gear in the third set, pulling away and taking a 10-3 win. 

The Railsplitters will return to the courts in the spring, as Lincoln Memorial will open their championship season against King University on February 6th at home. 

East Region – Round of 32 

Radu Florea/Jakub Hrášek over S. Claassen/L. Ivanov (GVSU): 6-2, 6-3 

East Region – Round of 16 

Radu Florea/Jakub Hrášek def by [1] F. Vacula/B. Sanchez (Midwestern State): 3-6, 0-6 

North Region – Quarterfinal 

Radu Florea/Jakub Hrášek def by [6] A. Brisdon/I. Melnik (Nebraska-Kearney): 4-6, 6-4, 3-10 

Northwest Region – Semifinal 

Radu Florea/Jakub Hrášek VS D. Calvo/A. Laur (Queens NY)