ATLANTA, Ga. – Tennessee State University men's tennis player Jonasz Dziopak, who was playing in his first collegiate tournament this weekend, claimed the Men's "A" Singles HBCU Tennis National Championship on Saturday afternoon.
 
The freshman from Poland defeated Ruan Du Prezz from Alabama State (7-5, 6-0) to claim the title.
 
"His performance was one of the most incredible displays I have ever seen from a freshman tennis player," said head coach Todd Smith. "He played like a veteran and ended up winning the top-flight A division, and became the first ever freshman to do so in the history of the tournament"
 
Dziopak claimed two wins on Thursday to open the 2022 HBCU Tournament as he defeated Yin Chic Lan in his first-round matchup (3-6, 6-3, 10-2), followed by a (6-3, 6-0) victory over Jacobi Bain in the quarterfinals.
 
The Poland native took on Sebastian Pino of North Carolina Central University in the semifinals on Friday afternoon as he won (6-0, 6-2) to advance to the finals.
 
"Jonasz strained an abdominal muscle in the semifinals and was questionable for the final. We suggested as a coaching staff sit it out, but he insisted he wanted to give it a go and he would change his gameplan by using lighter serves," stated head coach Todd Smith. "He lost his serve to go down a break early and was down 5-3 in the first set, but he was then able to hang and saved a set point and broke back to tie it up at 5," Smith relayed. "He never lost another game."
 
The Tigers earned 19 total points as a team to finish in second place out of nine teams.