ALLENDALE, Mich. –  The ITA Division II Men's Midwest Regional Championships are in the books and the University of Indianapolis men's tennis team is coming home with a second-place finish in the hands of sophomore Matthieu Derache. In the B draw, the freshman David Simeonov finished in second place as well. Tom Zeuch ended his tournament of the A draw in third place.
 
INS & OUTS
Derache fought through a tough three-set battle to force his way into the finals, taking on Sean Miller of Grand Valley State. Derache fell in the first set 6-3, but battled back into it, coming out on top after a 6-3 second and a 10-6 tiebreak.
 
On the other side of the semifinals, Zeuch battled the tough Ruben Fonga of Tiffin who came in as the No. 2-seed. Zeuch fought but was bested 6-0, 6-3.
 
The finals saw Fonga keep his momentum going, taking the first set 6-2. Derache fought, but to no avail, ending his run with a 6-4 second set.
 
In the B draw, Simeonov was excellent in his first match of the day, surviving a three-set bout with Bendix Schroeder of McKendree to carve his spot in the finals. He would face off with Joe Kelt of Wayne State in the finals, with Kelt finding the edge, winning in straight sets.
 
DAY 2
The round of 16 was a piece of cake for all the Greyhounds that remained in action, all three taking their matches in straight sets in a show of dominance. Derache faced a familiar foe in Bojan Radoman of fellow-GLVC program Southwest Baptist, while Zeuch ended the tournament of Lucas Gonzalez of the GVS Lakers. On the B draw, Simeonov also made short work of a GLVC-foe, taking down McKendree's Lorenzo Del Biondo.
 
The excellence of the singles competition did not end there for the Hounds trifecta in the quarters, with all three matches having a common theme. Derache found a blazing fast 6-0, 6-2 victory over the No. 8-seeded Marlon Wilken of Drury. It was two 6-1 sets for Zeuch for his quarterfinals match, as he sunk the No. 7-seed Yarolsav Sharyy, also of Drury. And as if it was planned, Simeonov made it a bad day to be a Panther, dropping Jesus Gonzalez of Drury in three sets.
 
While singles thrived for the Hounds, doubles play faltered as Zeuch and Louis Picaud as well as Erwan Momo Andre and Derache saw their run end in the round of 16.
 
DAY 1
Starting bright and early in Michigan, the tournament started with singles play. Derache and Zeuch both found quick victories in their first-round matchups, Derache winning 7-5, 6-3 and Zeuch claiming a 6-1, 6-2 dub.
 
For Erwan Momo Andre, the first round saw an uphill battle as he dropped his first set 7-5. EMA rebounded exceptionally well, going 6-0 in set two and then 10-6 in the tiebreak. Louis Picaud suffered a heartbreaking two-set, double tiebreaker loss in his first match of the tournament.
 
Simeonov and Pedro Franca were the B draw representatives for the Hounds, with both winning in straight sets in the first round.
 
Continuing into the round of 32, Zeuch rallied back from a 6-1 first set loss to grab 6-3 and eventual 10-6 set victories to keep his weekend alive. Derache, much like Zeuch, dropped the first set of his second match of the day, but eeked out a 6-4 second and then a 10-3 third to capture the victory. The A-draw run was over after the second round for EMA as he fell to the No. 2-seed Ruben Fonga of Tiffin in straight sets.
 
Simeonov once again found the win in his second-round match, while Franca fell 6-3, 6-2.
 
For doubles it was smooth sailing for all three Greyhounds pairs as Zeuch and Picaud took down a pair of Rockhurst Hawks 8-5. Continuing the magic from the NCAA tournament, the French connection of Derache and Momo Andre found the win 9-8 with a 7-5 tiebreak to move the pair into Sunday action. Battling in the B draw, Franca and Simenov won 8-5.