AUBURN, Ala. - The Columbus State University men's tennis team punched their ticket to the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championship Festival after defeating the University of North Georgia 4-1 in the Southeast Regional final on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cougars won the doubles match point as the No. 2 and No. 3 teams beat their Nighthawk opponents. In second doubles, Justin Welz and Camilo Cano won 6-2, and in the third spot, Andreas Sandrone and Elias Peter also won 6-2. 

CSU and UNG fought back-and-forth in singles play with two different matches going into a third set. North Georgia got their only point of the match after Joaquin Benoit beat Welz in the first singles. Cano won his match in the third spot 6-3, 6-1 to give CSU a second point. Peter then won in the sixth spot 6-4, 6-4, giving CSU a 3-1 lead.

After winning the first set 6-3 and losing the second 3-6, Sandrone won the third 6-2 to secure the Cougars' victory and send the team to the National Championship Festival.

The festival is May 21-25 in Orlando, Fla. at the Greater Orlando Sports Commission hosted by Rollins College.