Men's Tennis Heads To Tulsa To Open League Play
3/26/2009 2:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
THIS WEEK
The UMKC men's golf team will open Summit League play with its first cluster of the season this weekend in Tulsa, Okla. The Kangaroos will open play against IUPUI on Friday morning at 9 a.m. before facing Western Illinois and IPFW at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, on Saturday.
THE OPPONENTS
IUPUI enters the weekend with a 1-12 overall record on the season. The Jaguars picked up their first win of the season on March 13 when they won at Dayton, 4-3. Gregory Sosa is tied for the team lead with three singles wins, two of which have come at the No. 1 singles line.
Western Illinois brings a 2-10 overall record into the Cluster after dropping a 7-0 decision at UTSA on March 18. The Leathernecks first victory came on Valentine's Day in a tight 4-3 win over Creighton. WIU then secured its second “W” on the year on Wednesday in a 7-0 victory over Quincy.
IPFW, who will square off against Tulsa today, currently has a 5-12 overall record this season. On March 11, the Mastodons split a pair of matches in Nashville. The squad opened the day with a 7-0 victory over Alabama A&M before dropping a 4-3 decision to Lipscomb.
LAST COMPETITION
The Kangaroos dropped three matches last week to drop their record to 6-5 on the season. The squad fell 7-0 in all three contests to No. 72 USC-Upstate, Troy State and No. 44 Arkansas.
LOOKING TO RETURN TO EARLY SEASON FORM
The Kangaroos will look to return to their early season form this week in their first Summit League Cluster in Tulsa. UMKC, which has dropped four of its last five matches, will look to duplicate their performance from late January and early February, where it won five straight matches.
?ROOS READY FOR LEAGUE PLAY
With the start of league play, UMKC's Patrick Smith, Dennis Schwarz and Erwin Quintanilla are gearing up to take the court if past performance is taken into account. The trio of juniors have combined to post a 22-6 singles record in Summit League play over the course of their careers. Last season, Smith and Schwarz went unbeaten in league play with 4-0 and 5-0 records, respectively. Additionally, Schwarz and Quintanilla are 5-1 as a pair in doubles in league play, while Smith has posted a 7-3 record at the No. 1 doubles position.
THREE ?ROOS GARNER ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
Three members of the UMKC men's tennis team have garnered Summit League Athlete of the Week honors this season. Serge Ristivojevic earned the first honor on Jan. 28 after posting a 2-1 overall record in both singles and doubles in a pair of matches to open the season. Patrick Smith became the second straight ?Roo to earn the honor on Feb. 3 after posting a perfect 6-0 combined record in singles in doubles in UMKC's three straight wins over Gonzaga, Air Force and Northern Colorado. Bret Berryman then became the third different player to receive the honor on March 3. The Blue Springs, Mo., native earned the accolade after winning both of his matches at the one line in the 7-0 sweep over Creighton.
THREE ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE HONOREES RETURN FOR ?ROOS
UMKC returns three student-athletes that received all-Summit League honors last season in junior Patrick Smith, sophomore Serge Ristivojevic and junior Dennis Schwarz. Smith and Ristivojevic were first team all-league honorees, while Schwarz earned second team all-league honors for the seconds consecutive season.
KANGAROOS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The UMKC men's tennis team was picked as the runner-up in The Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll. The Kangaroos received a league-best three first place votes en route to a total of 31 points. Oral Roberts was tabbed as the league favorite after finishing with 32 points, which included a pair of first place tallies.
HEAD COACH KENDELL HALE
Head Coach Kendell Hale is in his second season as the head coach of the UMKC men's and women's tennis program. In his first season with the Kangaroos, Hale guided the men's program to a third place Summit League finish with a 4-2 mark. Three student-athletes earned all-league honors under Hale's watch.
Before joining the UMKC staff, Hale spent 11 years as the head coach at Rockhurst University, where he led the Hawks to nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
The UMKC men's golf team will open Summit League play with its first cluster of the season this weekend in Tulsa, Okla. The Kangaroos will open play against IUPUI on Friday morning at 9 a.m. before facing Western Illinois and IPFW at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, on Saturday.
THE OPPONENTS
IUPUI enters the weekend with a 1-12 overall record on the season. The Jaguars picked up their first win of the season on March 13 when they won at Dayton, 4-3. Gregory Sosa is tied for the team lead with three singles wins, two of which have come at the No. 1 singles line.
Western Illinois brings a 2-10 overall record into the Cluster after dropping a 7-0 decision at UTSA on March 18. The Leathernecks first victory came on Valentine's Day in a tight 4-3 win over Creighton. WIU then secured its second “W” on the year on Wednesday in a 7-0 victory over Quincy.
IPFW, who will square off against Tulsa today, currently has a 5-12 overall record this season. On March 11, the Mastodons split a pair of matches in Nashville. The squad opened the day with a 7-0 victory over Alabama A&M before dropping a 4-3 decision to Lipscomb.
LAST COMPETITION
The Kangaroos dropped three matches last week to drop their record to 6-5 on the season. The squad fell 7-0 in all three contests to No. 72 USC-Upstate, Troy State and No. 44 Arkansas.
LOOKING TO RETURN TO EARLY SEASON FORM
The Kangaroos will look to return to their early season form this week in their first Summit League Cluster in Tulsa. UMKC, which has dropped four of its last five matches, will look to duplicate their performance from late January and early February, where it won five straight matches.
?ROOS READY FOR LEAGUE PLAY
With the start of league play, UMKC's Patrick Smith, Dennis Schwarz and Erwin Quintanilla are gearing up to take the court if past performance is taken into account. The trio of juniors have combined to post a 22-6 singles record in Summit League play over the course of their careers. Last season, Smith and Schwarz went unbeaten in league play with 4-0 and 5-0 records, respectively. Additionally, Schwarz and Quintanilla are 5-1 as a pair in doubles in league play, while Smith has posted a 7-3 record at the No. 1 doubles position.
THREE ?ROOS GARNER ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
Three members of the UMKC men's tennis team have garnered Summit League Athlete of the Week honors this season. Serge Ristivojevic earned the first honor on Jan. 28 after posting a 2-1 overall record in both singles and doubles in a pair of matches to open the season. Patrick Smith became the second straight ?Roo to earn the honor on Feb. 3 after posting a perfect 6-0 combined record in singles in doubles in UMKC's three straight wins over Gonzaga, Air Force and Northern Colorado. Bret Berryman then became the third different player to receive the honor on March 3. The Blue Springs, Mo., native earned the accolade after winning both of his matches at the one line in the 7-0 sweep over Creighton.
THREE ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE HONOREES RETURN FOR ?ROOS
UMKC returns three student-athletes that received all-Summit League honors last season in junior Patrick Smith, sophomore Serge Ristivojevic and junior Dennis Schwarz. Smith and Ristivojevic were first team all-league honorees, while Schwarz earned second team all-league honors for the seconds consecutive season.
KANGAROOS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The UMKC men's tennis team was picked as the runner-up in The Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll. The Kangaroos received a league-best three first place votes en route to a total of 31 points. Oral Roberts was tabbed as the league favorite after finishing with 32 points, which included a pair of first place tallies.
HEAD COACH KENDELL HALE
Head Coach Kendell Hale is in his second season as the head coach of the UMKC men's and women's tennis program. In his first season with the Kangaroos, Hale guided the men's program to a third place Summit League finish with a 4-2 mark. Three student-athletes earned all-league honors under Hale's watch.
Before joining the UMKC staff, Hale spent 11 years as the head coach at Rockhurst University, where he led the Hawks to nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
Players Mentioned
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