ROME, Ga. - Friday at the ITA Cup, XULA Men's Tennis Star Christian Sanchez put together a performance that will resonate for years to come in the Xavier program en route to a berth in the semifinals. 

Sanchez, the top seed in the Men's NAIA Singles Bracket, found himself on the verge of elimination against Piero Fernandez of Southeastern (Fla.) in the quarterfinals after Fernandez won the first set 6-3 and held a 4-1 advantage in the second set. 

The heart of a champion runs deep, and Sanchez, who has won his last two tournaments, showed an uncommon mental toughness to rally for a 7-5 win in set 2, then rolled to a 6-1 win in the decisive third set. 

All told, Sanchez won 12 of the match's final 14 games, a particularly impressive feat when one takes into account the fact that Fernandez is a highly regarded student-athlete in his own right, having recently been a semifinalist in the ITA Florida Regional Championship in West Palm Beach. 

Sanchez faces 4-seeded Nicola Cortes of Tennessee Wesleyan in the semifinals, slated for an 11:30 a.m. CST start on Saturday. Nicholas Cortes.

Full results from the ITA Cup are available on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's website.