Tennis to Host State Farm MVC Championships This Weekend
4/22/2009 1:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
OMAHA, Neb. ? Creighton University will serve as the host for the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's & Women's Tennis Championships, which runs Friday-Sunday at the Koch Family Tennis Center (124th & Maple) in Omaha. All matches are open to the public and admission is free.
The Creighton men (4-10, 0-6 MVC) earned the No. 7-seed and will open with No. 2-seed Southern Illinois (15-6, 5-1 MVC) on Friday at 12:30 pm. When the Bluejays and Salukis met on April 4 in Carbondale, SIU won a 7-0 decision.
Other quarterfinal round match-ups on the men's side include No. 5-seed Bradley (8-12, 2-4 MVC) against I-74 rival and No. 4-seed Illinois State (8-11, 3-3 MVC) as well as No. 3-seed Wichita State (9-12, 4-2 MVC) against No. 6-seed Indiana State (3-17, 1-5 MVC). The No. 1-seed, Drake (13-9, 6-0 MVC), has a bye and will open play in the semifinals on Saturday against the Bradley/Illinois State winner.
The Bulldogs have won three straight outright MVC regular-season titles and are also vying for their fourth straight Valley championship. No league school has won four straight men's tournament titles since Indiana State from 1999-2002. The Bulldogs top player is senior Maor Zirkin, who owns a school-record 224 career victories in a Drake uniform.
The semifinal round will be held Saturday at 11 am and 2 pm, with Sunday's finals set for either 11 am or 1:30 pm. The winner of the championship earns the MVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins May 8-9 on campus sites nationwide.
Leading the Creighton men's team with six singles wins in dual matches this spring has been junior James McAvoy and freshman Gabe Nagy. Playing primarily in the No. 1 singles slot has been senior Jose Guerra (3-11). CU's No. 1 doubles squad consists of Nagy and sophomore Brian Ward, who are 5-6 on the spring, while the most successful tandem has been McAvoy and freshman Kyle Obermeier at No. 3 doubles (7-5).
On the women's side, Creighton (13-9, 1-7 MVC) is seeded eighth and faces No. 9-seed Bradley (8-13, 0-8 MVC) in first-round action, starting at 10 am on Friday. The winner of that match faces No. 1-seed Wichita State (18-5, 8-0 MVC) at 3 pm later that day. Creighton topped Bradley 6-1 when the teams met in Omaha on March 21st.
Other quarterfinal round matches include No. 5-seed Drake (11-11, 5-3 MVC) against No. 4-seed Illinois State (13-9, 5-3 MVC) at 10 am and 12:30 pm matches involving No. 3-seed Southern Illinois (16-7, 5-3 MVC) versus No. 6-seed Evansville (11-9, 3-5 MVC), as well as No. 2-seed Indiana State (8-11, 6-2 MVC) against No. 7-seed Northern Iowa (14-8, 3-5 MVC).
After having its two-year title reign snapped by Indiana State last spring, Wichita State enters the Valley championship as the heavy favorite, going 17-0 this year against unranked competition and dropping just three MVC singles matches all season.
The Creighton women are led by junior Tess Reddin, who is 13-8 this spring at the No. 1 singles position. All three of Creighton's doubles tandems have winning overall records. Nicole Nakaoka and Reddin are 12-10 at the No. 1 slot, twin sisters Leesa Cadwallader and Sarah Cadwallader are 13-9 at No. 2 doubles and Lauren Mastro and Kelsey Schmidt are 14-6 at No. 3 doubles. Creighton set a school record earlier this spring with a 10-match winning streak from March 8-31.
In the event of inclement weather, the tournament would move inside to Hanscom Indoor Tennis Center (3220 Ed Creighton Ave.). Creighton's website (www.gocreighton.com) will keep fans posted should the site be moved.
Creighton is coached by 1993 alum Tom Lilly, who is now in his 12th year. Lilly's wife, Jean, serves as an assistant with the women's squad.
The Creighton men (4-10, 0-6 MVC) earned the No. 7-seed and will open with No. 2-seed Southern Illinois (15-6, 5-1 MVC) on Friday at 12:30 pm. When the Bluejays and Salukis met on April 4 in Carbondale, SIU won a 7-0 decision.
Other quarterfinal round match-ups on the men's side include No. 5-seed Bradley (8-12, 2-4 MVC) against I-74 rival and No. 4-seed Illinois State (8-11, 3-3 MVC) as well as No. 3-seed Wichita State (9-12, 4-2 MVC) against No. 6-seed Indiana State (3-17, 1-5 MVC). The No. 1-seed, Drake (13-9, 6-0 MVC), has a bye and will open play in the semifinals on Saturday against the Bradley/Illinois State winner.
The Bulldogs have won three straight outright MVC regular-season titles and are also vying for their fourth straight Valley championship. No league school has won four straight men's tournament titles since Indiana State from 1999-2002. The Bulldogs top player is senior Maor Zirkin, who owns a school-record 224 career victories in a Drake uniform.
The semifinal round will be held Saturday at 11 am and 2 pm, with Sunday's finals set for either 11 am or 1:30 pm. The winner of the championship earns the MVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins May 8-9 on campus sites nationwide.
Leading the Creighton men's team with six singles wins in dual matches this spring has been junior James McAvoy and freshman Gabe Nagy. Playing primarily in the No. 1 singles slot has been senior Jose Guerra (3-11). CU's No. 1 doubles squad consists of Nagy and sophomore Brian Ward, who are 5-6 on the spring, while the most successful tandem has been McAvoy and freshman Kyle Obermeier at No. 3 doubles (7-5).
On the women's side, Creighton (13-9, 1-7 MVC) is seeded eighth and faces No. 9-seed Bradley (8-13, 0-8 MVC) in first-round action, starting at 10 am on Friday. The winner of that match faces No. 1-seed Wichita State (18-5, 8-0 MVC) at 3 pm later that day. Creighton topped Bradley 6-1 when the teams met in Omaha on March 21st.
Other quarterfinal round matches include No. 5-seed Drake (11-11, 5-3 MVC) against No. 4-seed Illinois State (13-9, 5-3 MVC) at 10 am and 12:30 pm matches involving No. 3-seed Southern Illinois (16-7, 5-3 MVC) versus No. 6-seed Evansville (11-9, 3-5 MVC), as well as No. 2-seed Indiana State (8-11, 6-2 MVC) against No. 7-seed Northern Iowa (14-8, 3-5 MVC).
After having its two-year title reign snapped by Indiana State last spring, Wichita State enters the Valley championship as the heavy favorite, going 17-0 this year against unranked competition and dropping just three MVC singles matches all season.
The Creighton women are led by junior Tess Reddin, who is 13-8 this spring at the No. 1 singles position. All three of Creighton's doubles tandems have winning overall records. Nicole Nakaoka and Reddin are 12-10 at the No. 1 slot, twin sisters Leesa Cadwallader and Sarah Cadwallader are 13-9 at No. 2 doubles and Lauren Mastro and Kelsey Schmidt are 14-6 at No. 3 doubles. Creighton set a school record earlier this spring with a 10-match winning streak from March 8-31.
In the event of inclement weather, the tournament would move inside to Hanscom Indoor Tennis Center (3220 Ed Creighton Ave.). Creighton's website (www.gocreighton.com) will keep fans posted should the site be moved.
Creighton is coached by 1993 alum Tom Lilly, who is now in his 12th year. Lilly's wife, Jean, serves as an assistant with the women's squad.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
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/ Women's Tennis
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/ Men's Tennis
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/ Women's Tennis
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/ Men's Tennis
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