ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - The No. 1 Columbus State University men's tennis team remains alive for its fourth straight national championship appearance following a 4-0 win over Cameron University on Wednesday in the 2022 NCAA DII Men's Tennis Championship Round of 16. The 2022 national championship is taking place at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

With the win, the Cougars (21-2) move into Thursday's quarterfinal round and will take on No. 14 Azusa Pacific University at noon.

Doubles play had excitement as all three matches were played to completion. CSU quickly grabbed a 6-1 win at third doubles after Christian Garay and Felix Steen downed Baptiste Mercier and Joao Duleba. However, Cameron (14-9) stayed alive for the point with an upset win in the first position. Tomas Almeida and Thomas Cardona defeated No. 6 Alvaro Regalado and Javier Cueto Ramos 6-2 to force all eyes onto court two.

At second doubles, No. 13 Tommaso Schold and Pietro Martinetti were battling Kristian Kubik and Carols Vidal in a back-and-forth match. The Cougar duo was able to hold a break to grab a 7-5 win and to put Columbus State ahead 1-0.

The Cougar depth showed in singles play as the backend of the lineup piled on the wins. After his must-win doubles match, No. 38 Schold followed it up with a 6-0, 6-2 straight-set win in the third spot over Vidal. Justin Welz stepped into the sixth position and delivered for the Cougars, taking down Duleba 6-0, 6-1 to pull CSU one win away from the quarterfinals.

Martinetti was the one to find the clinching point for Columbus State. After taking the first set 6-4, Martinetti held off Kubik 7-5 in the second set to grab the win. 

Second and third singles were in a third set when play was called, while No. 64 Almedia was up a set on No. 1 Regalado in the first spot.