NEW ORLEANS, La. – An opportunity to play for a championship should be earned and that is exactly what No. 2 seed Alabama A&M (5-6, 4-1 SWAC) did as they rallied from a 3-2 deficit to knock off No. 3 seed Alcorn State (4-12, 2-3 SWAC) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament Semifinals and NCAA Division I men's tennis match on Sunday, April 18.
 
Having not faced live competition in 29 days, the Bulldogs dropped their first match in doubles play as redshirt-senior Gjorgji Popovski (Skopje, Macedonia) and junior Cheng Yang Chang (Koahsiung, Taiwan) fell 6-2 to Stojan Stojanovski and Lucas Dini at No. 2. The Braves would take the doubles point but it would come in a marathon 7-6 decision as David Pata and Luka Andonov barely bested juniors Panji Setiawan (South Jakarta, Indonesia) and Rodrigo Arana Rios (Playa Del Carmen, Mexico) at the top spot.
 
They would not hold that lead for long as freshman Divesh Gahlot (Haryana, India) took down ASU's Kareem Bowe by a 6-1, 6-1 score at No. 6 singles. The bottom of the order would continue to pay dividends as Setiawan gave A&M a 2-1 lead with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 decision over Rocca at No. 5.
 
The game of runs would continue as Alcorn responded back with Pata posting a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Arana Rios at the top spot. They would follow that with Andonov pulling out a 7-6, 6-3 victory at No. 3 over Ruiz Crespo to put them on the cusp of reaching the final.
 
However, rather having an opportunity to sing "We Are The Champions" on Monday, it would be the refrain of "wait until next year" as the Bulldogs were not done.
 
Sophomore Natiphat Mulada (Korat, Thailand) kept A&M's hopes alive with a hard fought 7-6, 6-4 victory over Dini at No. 4 and Popovski brought them home at No. 2. Facing Stojanovski he dropped the opening set 7-5 but stormed back to deliver commanding 6-2 and 6-0 decisions to complete the comeback and send the Bulldogs to the final with a 4-3 victory.
 
Alabama A&M will now take on rival and top seeded Alabama State in the SWAC Championship. With the significant weather delays experienced by the tournament, the showdown is slated for 2 p.m. tomorrow, Monday, April 19 at the Xavier Tennis Center on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana.
 
ALABAMA A&M 4, ALCORN STATE 3
Doubles
1. David Pata/Luka Andonov def. Panji Setiawan/Rodrigo Arana Rios 7-6
2. Stojan Stojanovski/Lucas Dini def. Gjorgji Popovski/Cheng Yang Chang 6-2
3. Divesh Gahlot/Fermin Ruiz Crespo vs. Kareem Bowe/Santiago Rocca 5-3 (UF)
Order of Finish: 2, 1
 
Singles
No. 1. David Pata def. Rodrigo Arana Rios 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 2. Gjorgji Popovski def. Stojan Stojanovski 5-7, 6-2, 6-0
No. 3. Luka Andonov def. Fermin Ruiz Crespo 7-6, 6-3
No. 4. Natiphat Mulada def. Lucas Dini 7-6, 6-4
No. 5. Panji Setiawan def. Santiago Rocca 6-0, 6-1
No. 6. Divesh Gahlot def. Kareem Bowe 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 3, 4, 2