EVANSVILLE, Ind—University of Southern Indiana Men's Tennis senior Ilia Karelin (Ekaterinburg, Russia) rallied from a one-set deficit to win his match at No. 2 singles and clinch a thrilling 4-3, come-from-behind victory over The University of Findlay in an impromptu Midwest Region match Saturday night at the Evansville Tennis Center.

The two teams were scheduled to play Sunday morning at Wesselman's Park, but poor weather conditions and court availability pushed the contest into the Evansville Tennis Center.

Doubles Play
USI (8-10) trailed 1-0 heading into singles play after losing two of three doubles matches to surrender the opening point. Karelin and freshman Marvin Kromer (Dogern, Germany) secured the only win for the Screaming Eagles in doubles play.

Singles Play
Freshman Martin Linares (Buenos Aires, Argentina) tied the match at 1-1 with a straight-set win at No. 5, while a 7-5, 6-3 win for sophomore Spencer Blandford (Louisville, Kentucky) at No. 4 singles once again tied the match, this time at 2-2 following a USI setback at No. 1 singles.

Kromer's straight-set win at No. 3 singles put the Eagles up 3-2, but a close loss at No. 6 singles put the focus squarely on Karelin, who was in the midst of a rally of his own at No. 2.

After losing the opening set, 6-2, to Findlay sophomore Jorge Barnuevo, Karelin bounced back with a 7-6 (7-1) win in the second set to tie his match at 1-1. Karelin rode the momentum from the second set into the deciding third frame, where he won 6-1 to secure the Eagles' second straight win.

Up Next
USI returns to action Friday at 2 p.m. when it travels to Lebanon, Illinois, to take on McKendree University in a GLVC match.