Senior
Tyler Millan earned his place in the 2019 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Individual Championships No. 1 bracket semifinals on Saturday, as play on the first day of action concluded from Kirby Park.
In the first round, Millan took on Zack Hemond of Misericordia University and earned an easy 6-3, 6-2 win to move into the quarterfinals. Once there, Millan knocked off Andrew Bookman of Messiah College 7-5, 6-2 and will now face Mike Ellis of Wilkes University Sunday in the semifinals.
Marc Feliu of Stevens Institute of Technology and Andrew Sturniolo of Stevenson are still alive on the other side of the bracket. Ellis was a winner over Danny Lynn, who was the No. 3 seed in the tournament as he picked up a 7-6 (7), 5-7, 10-6 win to face Millan. Millan played some of the best tennis of his career at King's College, finishing as the runner-up in the No. 1 bracket of the 2019 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Individual Championships, hosted by the MAC at Kirby Park Sunday.
Millan started action Sunday with a straight set win over Mike Ellis of Wilkes University, taking the first set 6-2. In the second, Ellis would push Millan to a tie-breaker, as Millan led 6-5 but Ellis won his service game to send the set to extra points. In the tie-breaker, Millan and Ellis were tied 3-3 at the change over, but Millan would take over from that point earning the final four points to take a 6-2, 7-6 (3) win to propel him to the MAC Individual Finals.
In the finals, Millan would take on the most decorated player in the tournament, Marc Feliu of Stevens Institute of Technology, who was ranked No. 15 in the postseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III Northeast Regional rankings.
Feliu would walk into the finals on the heels of a pair of 6-0, 6-1 wins, but Millan gave the Stevens' No. 1 player all he could handle. Millan and Feliu split the first two games of the first set, but Feliu won some tight games in the first to earn a 6-1 victory in the opening set.
In the second though, Millan would start to have more success with his forehand and strong service game, winning the first three games to put Feliu down for the first time in the tournament. Millan's opponent would rally with five straight games, before Millan stopped the stretch with a service game hold to make the score 5-4 in the second set.
The Stevens' top player would end up outlasting Millan in the end though, with the finals finishing in a 6-1, 6-4 victory for Feliu. Millan showed that he could battle with some of the best in the region, hitting winners throughout the match.
The runner-up finish for MIllan was King's first No. 1 singles runner-up finish since George Parkhurst finished second in 2016. It was also just the seventh time since 1952 that a King's player has played in the finals.
