CLEVELAND, Miss. — The Delta State University men's tennis team delivered a thrilling comeback Monday afternoon, rallying from a 3-0 deficit to defeat No. 16 West Alabama, 4-3, at Cleveland Country Club.

The Statesmen (11-9, 3-5 GSC) dropped the doubles point and the first two singles matches before storming back with four straight wins to complete the reverse sweep over the Tigers (13-7, 5-3 GSC).

West Alabama took an early 1-0 lead by claiming two of three doubles courts. Delta State's lone doubles win came at No. 3, where Juan Diego Alzate and Joaquin Jarochevsky earned a convincing 6-1 victory.

In singles play, the Tigers extended their advantage to 3-0 with straight-set wins at No. 1 and No. 2. From there, the momentum shifted entirely in favor of the Statesmen.

Simon Ojeda put Delta State on the board with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 5, followed by Valentino Millimaci's 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 6 to cut the deficit to 3-2.

The comeback continued at the top half of the lineup as Alzate battled back for a three-set win at No. 3, taking a second-set tiebreak before closing out the match 6-3 in the third to even the score at 3-3.

Alejandro Bravo completed the rally at No. 4 singles, securing the clinching point with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 victory to give Delta State the upset win.

The Statesmen's four straight singles victories sealed one of their most impressive wins of the season, knocking off a ranked Gulf South Conference opponent in dramatic fashion.

The Statesmen will be back in action later next week in the Gulf South Conference Championship Tournament starting next Thursday April 23^rd in Tuscaloosa, Ala.