For a fifth straight season, the Cameron men's tennis team's season ended at the Division II Nationals -- this year with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of No. 3 Columbus State (Georgia) in the Sweet 16.
Tuesday's loss at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla. wasn't how the No. 21 Aggies pictured their season ending, but it was still sweeter than it seemed.
"Today, they are still feeling the sting, but I think they'll look back on all this and be quite proud," Cameron coach Josh Cobble said. "A very rich tradition of success here at Cameron has been kept alive because of these guys."
Cobble took over the Cameron men's and women's tennis squads in January of this year and found a way to get the Aggies to rally.
"I know the guys are disappointed, but they've been there," Cobble said. "They overcame a lot this year with a coaching change after having a slow start. They figured out a way to get it done this year. Today, they just ran into one of the better teams in the country. They competed their hearts out and I couldn't be more proud of the group we brought out here today."
Despite the final scoreboard reading 5-1, the match was actually much closer than it seemed.
Getting off to a rough start in doubles - losing two out of the three doubles points - ended up costing Cameron.
In a highly anticipated doubles showdown, No. 11 Felipe Oyarzun and Mateo Velasco defeated No. 22 KP Pannu and Maciej Kierkus of Columbus State, 8-5 to snag a crucial doubles point.
"They started off a little slow," Cobble said. "They kept fighting through it and ended up pulling out the win. They played really really well."
In the second doubles slot, Bruno Babic and Keiran President fell 5-8 to Matei Avram and Zach Whaanga despite taking an early 4-2 lead.
Vinicius Santos and Julen Gutierrez were tied 5-5, before also losing 5-8, to Jorge Vargas and Shao-Yu Yu, which gave the Cougars an early 2-1 lead.
"Both teams did a really good job on the return game making sure the servers had to play long games," Cobble said. "We just weren't quite able to hang onto it."
Singles was rough sailing as well for the Aggies, who couldn't steal back the momentum from Columbus State.
In a battle of the Aggies' and Cougars' top singles players, Santos fell in straight sets 2-6, 1-6 to Pannu. Santos came into the match ranked 29th nationally, but was in for a battle against No. 32 Pannu, who had a blazing racket, Tuesday.
"The guy he played was just on fire today," Cobble said. "No matter what Vinny (Santos) fired at him (Pannu), he was able to find the court. He (Pannu) played unbelievably well, and he's a good player on top of that. He really didn't let Vinny get a rhythm in the match which made it tough."
No Cameron player was able to grab a singles point.
Oyarzun fell in a close contest, but lost in straight sets 4-6, 5-7 to Paul Sprengelmeijer. Gutierrez - who was the Aggies' savior in his dramatic singles victory during the 5-4 regional final victory over Midwestern State - had a tough day falling to CSU's Vargas in straight sets 3-6, 1-6.
Three Aggies were unable to finish their singles matches as the Cougars had already clinched a fifth and deciding match point.
"I credit Columbus State. Their team stepped up," Cobble said. "I don't think we really let up. It was just that they peaked at the right time in the sets. They (the Cougars) made the shots they needed to at the right time. Momentum shifted from there and they were able to pull it out."
The Aggies trio -- Babic, Velasco and President -- were in the middle of their third sets when the match was called. Each singles match was tied at 1-1.
"We were in very competitive spots," Cobble said. "If those guys could've got a little more time, it maybe would've made a difference.
You get into some matches where timing plays a big role. If we win some of those earlier matches, the momentum shifts."
While it's no guarantee Cameron would've won each of the remaining single points, it is worth pondering an Aggies comeback had CU stolen one point in either doubles or in the earlier singles matches.
"The team really feels that win -- the difference of being up 3-2 compared to trailing 4-1," Cobble said. "Not everybody can overcome that pressure of staying alive so it shifts the mentality and momentum of what's happening on the court."
Cameron (17-11) came into the Sweet 16 on a roll, having won six straight matches, including a South Central Regional Championship and a Lone Star Conference Championship.
With the victory, Columbus State (23-3) punched its ticket to the Elite-8 against Azusa Pacific on Wednesday while improving to 13-2 against nationally ranked teams this season.
A coveted spot in the Elite-8 for Cameron will have to wait until next year though.
What made this year's team special though was the selflessness, Cobble said.
"You get a team full of good players and it becomes easy for egos to take over. One guy wants to be the show," Cobble said. "That wasn't the case at all with this group. These guys went out and played for each other everyday -- whether it was a match or at practice. They knew every time they stepped on the court that there were eight guys out there on the court with them, being loud, cheering them on and encouraging them. That made a big difference. They really bought into each other more than anything else."
The Aggies do return most of their team, losing only two seniors -- Oyarzun and Andres Velasco. Both will be deeply missed though, particularly Oyarzun, a Chilean native.
"Felipe (Oyarzun) is the heart and soul of this team," Cobble said. "He's a special spark for us. He's done a lot to keep this team together."
Those returning next year will lean on the togetherness that Oyarzun taught them as the Aggies hope to win a sixth straight regional championship and another trip to Nationals.
"Every time you hit a milestone, you've got that taste in your mouth," Cobble said. "You're not satisfied until you get back. Then your eyes get bigger for more. We'll all be really excited for that."
