NEW ORLEANS, La. – Trailing on three separate occasions, including 3-2 and a point away from their season being over, No. 2 seed Alabama A&M (6-6, 4-1 SWAC) men's tennis rallied for their first ever Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament Championship as they knocked off three-time defending champion and top seeded Alabama State (9-6, 5-0 SWAC) by a 4-3 score in an NCAA Division I men's tennis match on Monday, April 19.
 
Having won seven of their last nine, it would be the Hornets that got out to the fast start as the tandem of Kristofer Johnson and Alejo Calvis posted a 6-1 victory over juniors Panji Setiawan (South Jakarta, Indonesia) and Rodrigo Arana Rios (Playa Del Carmen, Mexico) at No. 1 doubles.
 
ASU's Juan Rodriguez and Chris Andre would have to work harder at No. 2 as freshman Divesh Gahlot (Haryana, India) and senior Fermin Ruiz Crespo (Mollina, Spain) pushed them before falling 6-4 to surrender the doubles point.
 
That one point lead would double at the start of singles play as Andre delivered a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Arana Rios at the top spot but the Bulldogs would stop the bleeding with a hard fought victory at No. 2. That would come in the form of senior Gjorgji Popovski (Skopje, Macedonia) who landed a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ruan Du Preez to cut it to 2-1.
 
Setiawan would then follow suit at the five spot to knot it up with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Johnson before the Hornets regained their footing. Boussayri would deliver a convincing 6-0, 6-2 decision over Ruiz Crespo at No. 3 to put Alabama State in line to win their fourth straight title.
 
A&M would have something to say about that, however, as the final two matches both recovered from opening set losses. The first of those would be Gahlot who took down Calvis 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 to lay it all on the line at No. 4 with a 3-3 deadlock.
 
That would land at the feet of sophomore Natiphat Mulada (Korat, Thailand) who dropped a 6-1 decision to open the match before grinding his way back with a 6-4 win in the second set. It would get no easier as it came down the final set but it would be Mulada that would be equal to the task as he pulled out another narrow 6-4 win before being mobbed by his teammates as the Bulldogs locked up their first SWAC title and a trip to the NCAA Division I Tournament.
 
"I'm very proud of these young men," said head coach Willis Mbandi. "They played with so much heart and Bulldog pride today and just refused to lose. They deserve to be champions!"
 
In addition to the trophy, the title and the trip to the postseason, the Bulldogs also collected an impressive list of honors, headlined by Mbandi being named SWAC Coach of the Year and Mulada earning Most Valuable Player honors. Joining the latter as All-Tournament selections were Popovski, Setiawan and Gahlot.
 
With the victory, Alabama A&M has also punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament and will find out who their opponent will be on Monday, May 3. The NCAA selection show will air at 5:30 p.m. (CST) that day with opening round action expected later that week.
 
Stay tuned to www.AAMUSports.com, the official online home of A&M Athletics, for all the details of the Bulldogs trip to the postseason.
 
ALABAMA A&M 4, ALABAMA STATE 3
Doubles
1. Kristofer Johnson/Alejo Calvis def. Panji Setiawan/Rodrigo Arana Rios 6-1
2. Ruan Du Preez/Assil Boussayri def. Gjorgji Popovski/Cheng Yang Chang 6-4
3. Divesh Gahlot/Fermin Ruiz Crespo def. Juan Rodriguez/Chris Andre (UF)
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
 
Singles
No. 1. Chris Andre def. Rodrigo Arana Rios 6-2, 6-1
No. 2. Gjorgji Popovski def. Ruan Du Preez 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
No. 3. Assil Boussayri def. Fermin Ruiz Crespo 6-0, 6-2
No. 4. Natiphat Mulada def. Juan Rodriguez 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 5. Panji Setiawan def. Kristofer Johnson 6-2, 6-4
No. 6. Divesh Gahlot def. Alejo Calvis 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 5, 3, 6, 4