CHARLESTON, W. Va. -- Trailing 3-0 after doubles play, Edinboro rallied to win five consecutive singles matches to earn a 5-3 victory against Kutztown and capture the 2014 NCAA Atlantic No. 2 Region title on Sunday afternoon at the Schoenbaum Tennis Courts The contest was a rematch of April 18's PSAC championship final, which the Fighting Scots won by an identical score of 5-3.
Edinboro now moves on to the Round of 16, facing off with South 2 Region champion West Florida on May 14 at 1:30 p.m. ET in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
The Fighting Scots extended their match win streak to 11 contests with the win, while improving their record to 20-8 on the season. The Golden Bears close the 2014 campaign with a 15-6 mark.
Edinboro dropped all three doubles matches to open the regional final by a combined score of 24-7. Fighting Scot head coach Lee Underwood brought the team together after doubles play.
"We all huddled there and what I told them was, get your heads up, we're not losers, we're winners," Underwood said. "You're not fighting for yourselves, you're fighting for the guy next to you."
The team took Underwood's advice to heart, gaining the momentum and triumphing in five consecutive singles matches en route to the match victory.
Matias Aignasse (20-4) defeated Rush Amini at No. 1 singles for the first time this season by scores of 6-1, 6-3, avenging two losses from earlier this year. Amini topped Aignasse 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 10-4 in the first meeting on March 1, before besting Aignasse again in the PSAC championship by scores of 6-0, 7-5.
Juan Estepa boosted his record to 16-7 on the season with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles against Matthew Maguire. Brandon Romain (15-10) defeated Patricio Hernandez in a 6-4, 6-3 decision at No. 5 singles, while Raffaele Fusulan (9-7) topped Ben Nace at sixth singles by scores of 6-2, 6-3.
The outcome of the match rested in the hands of Bruno Borja, and the PSAC Freshman of the Year responded. Borja posted a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory against Varun Desai at No. 2 singles, clinching the 5-3 win and the Atlantic 2 Region title for the Fighting Scots.
Underwood noted the magnitude of this comeback victory.
"This is by far in 23 years the greatest team match I have been a part of," Underwood said. "With everything at stake, and Kutztown playing as well as they could have possibly played, there are just a handful of wins like this. With our backs against the wall, our guys were positive and they responded."
