INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Indianapolis men's tennis team is championship bound at the TA DII National Men's Team Indoor Championship, scoring a convincing win over region-rival and No. 5-ranked Wayne State University, 4-2. The win sends the Hounds to the championship bout on Sunday where they will face No. 3 St. Leo at 2:30 p.m. in the UIndy Tennis Center.
INS AND OUTS
With the UIndy Tennis Center packed with fans rooting on the Hounds, the air was electric as doubles play began. The Warriors, however, were unaffected as it seemed, fighting off the crowd's energy to score the first match win of the battle, a doubles win at the No. 2 slot.
The dominant duo of
Tom Zeuch and
Edgar Destouet faced a rematch of the ITA Midwest Regional Finals on the exact same court they won that regional on, battling the No. 8-ranked pair of Cedric Drenth and Daniel Grey. Much like what had happened in the fall, the Zeuch Destouet combo was too much for the Warriors top doubles pair as they stormed to an early lead and never gave it up, winning 6-4.
With their teammates as their sides,
Jason Gerweck and
Nikolaj Talimaa were the deciders of the doubles point. It was tied, going back and forth for games up until it was 4-4. That is where the Hounds found their edge, scoring a decisive game nine win to make it 5-4. The warriors battled back tying it once again, but back to back game wins secured the doubles point for the Hounds.
With a lead, the Hounds carried the energy, and yelling, into singles action.
Thomas Mathis, much like the match against Barry, was the first Hounds to claim victory, making it 2-0 in favor of the Hounds. The Warriors had not lost their spirit however, fighting back with a win at No. 3 singles over Talimaa. And just minutes later, after an extremely close battle it was 2-2, with Wayne State winning at No. 5 singles over
August Ehrnrooth in a three set battle of attrition. With the back-to-back wins, the energy in the bubble felt like it was swinging in the favor of the Warriors.
The trip to the finals came down to the final three matches, but the Hounds only needed two. No. 28 Zeuch, battling familiar foe in Dreneth, made it 3-2 with a straight sets victory at No. 2 singles, using his length to outpace his Warrior-rival.
Destouet was not far behind, as after losing the first set via tiebreak, he dominated. In the second set, Destouet gave up the first game, but went on a tear, winning the next six in a row. With shades of the Barry finale in the air, Destouet made the final blow, a 6-0 masterclass of tennis, winning in three sets and sending the Hounds to the final.
HOUND BYTES
Head Coach Malik Tabet on the Wayne State match…
"What an exciting match again, this tournament has just been awesome to us, and playing Wayne State who is a regional rival too, who in my opinion is one of the better indoor tennis teams in our division, and to be able to play such a high-quality match, it was just awesome. Super excited about how my players, reacted today and handled a tough match."
Tabet on the packed UIndy Tennis Center…
"It was just an awesome, awesome vibe, Its booming right now. This was crazy and we absolutely love it. My players got transcended by this environment. So I am really hoping to see an even bigger crowd tomorrow."
UP NEXT
Championship Sunday, Feb. 19, 2:30 p.m., UIndy Tennis Center. BE THERE!
