In Butler's seventh 4-3 match of the season, Sunday's BIG EAST semifinal was the tightest of 2019 as Marquette nipped the Bulldogs to advance to the 2019 BIG EAST championship match.

Marquette will face top-seeded St. John's Monday in Cayce, S.C., to determine the 2019 BIG EAST champion.

Butler took the doubles point Saturday before rain suspended play with each of the six singles matches midway through the first set. When play resumed Sunday, Marquette got on the board with straight-set wins on the sixth and third courts to take a 2-1 lead.

Michael Dickson leveled the match just minutes later with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Greg Anderson at No. 5 singles. With the match tied 2-2, all three of the remaining matches entered a third set.

Senior Mason Dragos gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 win over Alvaro Verdu on the first court. The lead was short-lived as Marquette's Brett Meyers defeated Adrian Mag, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, on court 4.

The match would hinge on court 2 as Butler freshman Thomas Brennan and Luke Smrek battled in a third-set. Smrek fought back after Brennan broke him early in the deciding set. Smrek was also able to fight off several match points to get the set to 5-5. It was Smrek who then broke for a 6-5 lead and was able to serve out the set for a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 win.  

Butler finishes the season with a 21-7 record in coach Daniel Pollock's first season in Indianapolis. The 21 wins mark a new program-record for the Bulldogs. Butler's senior class of Dragos, Spencer Lang, Aviv Ben Shabat, Mag, Ari Gerstein, and Lope Adelakun, which led the program to its first BIG EAST title in 2017, graduates as one of the most decorated in history.

Butler and Marquette played just a week ago in Indianapolis as the Bulldogs pulled out a 4-3 win, which would give Butler the two-seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. Marquette, the third seed, advances to its fifth-straight BIG EAST title match. Butler defeated the Golden Eagles for the 2017 title before Marquette defeated DePaul to win in 2018.

Tennis Match Results
Butler Men's Tennis vs Marquette Men's Tennis
Apr 21, 2019 at Cayce, S.C.
(Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center)
2019 BIG EAST Tennis Championship

No. 3 Marquette Men's Tennis 4, No. 2 Butler Men's Tennis 3

Singles competition
1. Mason Dragos (BU) def. Alvaro Verdu (MU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
2. Luke Smrek (MU) def. Thomas Brennan (BU) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
3. Luis Heredia Gomez (MU) def. Aviv Ben Shabat (BU) 7-5, 6-3
4. Brett Meyers (MU) def. Adrian Mag (BU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
5. Michael Dickson (BU) def. Greg Anderson (MU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Brandon Shanklin (MU) def. Spencer Lang (BU) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Alvaro Verdu/Brett Meyers (MU) def. Mason Dragos/Aviv Ben Shabat (BU) 6-4
2. Michael Dickson/Adrian Mag (BU) def. Greg Anderson/Luis Heredia Gomez (MU) 6-4
3. Thomas Brennan/Spencer Lang (BU) def. Luke Smrek/Fran San Andres (MU) 7-5

Match Notes:
Butler Men's Tennis 21-7
Marquette Men's Tennis 15-8
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3); Singles (6, 3, 5, 1, 4, 2)
Match duration: 3:10