MIDLAND, Mich - Two GLVC rivals, two top-15 teams, two teams that have seen each other twice prior.
That was the story of the NCAA DII Men's Tennis Midwest Regional final, and the happy ending featured the top-seeded and 11th-ranked UIndy Greyhounds prevailing over the Southwest Baptist Bearcats in a convincing 4-1 fashion. The win comes after an excruciatingly-close encounter in the GLVC Championship final which saw the Hounds edged out by the Bearcats. However today, UIndy came in with revenge on its mind and left as the MIdwest champs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bearcats confidently entered doubles play by started off strong, knocking off
Renato Lima and
Maximilian Witthaus 6-3 in the No. 2 slot. However the Hounds fought back to capture the next two points in close matches. First was
Nikolaj Talimaa and
Pedro Franca, winning 6-4 to tie it. And in the deciding match, it was the young guns for the Hounds in GLVC Freshman of the Year
Tom Zeuch and
Yoann Viel taking the win 6-4 and earning the doubles point.
The doubles win seemed to light a fire for the Hounds, as Viel struck hard and fast against his SBU adversary, dropping only four games across two sets to win 6-3, 6-1. Next, Lima faced a tough challenge, as the No. 6 singles player in the country, SBU's Adham Gaber, got the best of his 6-4, 6-4.
Only needing two more matches to secure their bid to the NCAA DII Championship, the 28th-ranked Zeuch delivered a massive straight-sets win 6-3, 6-3 to put the Hounds within just one point of victory.
Jason Gerweck would be up to the task. He started off winning a close first set 7-5, and with a strong second set performance resulting in a 6-4 win, the Hounds were crowned Midwest champions.
Talimaa and Franca did not finish their matches.
HOUND BYTES
Head Coach Malik Tabet on bouncing back...
"The boys were on a mission, we got a slap in the face last weekend. We knew we did not put out our best performance and I was very impressed with the character that this men's tennis team brought to the table today."
Tabet on the importance of starting strong with doubles...
"It was humongous. That was the key, for us to come in charging in doubles. We really imposed our will and we were loud and played very well strategically. We knew how to play this team obviously; we set up a good game plan, and I'm very excited to see that key players like Pedro and Niko - young players, all four of them, even Tom and Yoann - came in and really played the true college tennis that we want.
"They were fired up and loud, and they wanted to compete hard and it paid off because that momentum carried on and we kept charging and we never stopped. It was a very impressive exhibition today. I think my players have grown today from this match and this experience."
UP NEXT
The Greyhounds are on their way to the NCAA DII Championships all the way in Surprise, Ariz. They await to see who they will play on May 18th.
