Men's Tennis Hosts Northwest Missouri State In Regular Season Finale
4/14/2009 10:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
THIS WEEK
The UMKC men's tennis team will close out the regular season with a Wednesday afternoon match against No. 25 Northwest Missouri State. The Kangaroos and Bearcats will square off at the Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City beginning at 2 p.m.
THE OPPONENT
Northwest Missouri State, which is ranked No. 25 in the ITA Division II rankings, is currently 12-4 on the season after winning seven of its last eight matches. The Bearcats lone loss during the stretch was a 7-2 defeat at the hands of Washburn on April 4. Daniel Usieto and Felipe Gennari are the top two players for Northwest. Usieto has posted an 11-5 record at the one line, while Gennari has a 14-2 mark at the No. 2 line this season.
LAST COMPETITION
The Kangaroos won two-of-three matches at the final Summit League Cluster of the season last weekend in Fort Wayne, Ind. UMKC opened play with a heart wrenching 4-3 loss to Oral Roberts, as the Golden Eagles rebounded from losing the doubles point to win four of the six singles matches to take the match. On April 10, the ?Roos picked up a pair of league victories, topping South Dakota State (4-0) and Centenary (6-1).
HALE TO BATTLE ALMA MATER
Head Coach Kendell Hale will face a familiar foe when Northwest Missouri State comes to Kansas City on Wednesday. Hale played for the Bearcats during the 1989 and 1990 seasons, where he helped the squad to a No. 12 NCAA Division II ranking. He graduated from Northwest in 1990 with a degree in psychology/sociology.
?ROOS FINISH AS THE REGULAR SEASON RUNNER-UP
UMKC finished The Summit League regular season with a 5-1 record, which was good for a runner-up finish. The finish is the best showing for the squad since the 2001 campaign. The ?Roos now will enter The Summit League Championship as the No. 2 seed, where they will battle third-seeded Western Illinois on April 24. With a victory, UMKC will square off against the winner of the No. 1 seed Oral Roberts/No. 4 seed IPFW match to play for The Summit League's NCAA Tournament berth.
UMKC POSTS 10TH & 11TH VICTORIES IN FORT WAYNE
The Kangaroos picked up their 10th and 11th victories of the season last weekend at The Summit League Cluster in Fort Wayne. The 2009 win total is the ninth double digit total in school history and the victories are tied for the third most in a single season in the record books. The 11 wins are also the most for the program since the 2000 season when the squad finished with a 12-11 mark.
SMITH FINISHES UNBEATEN IN LEAGUE PLAY
Junior Patrick Smith finished league play with a perfect 6-0 singles record and a 2-0 doubles mark to push his overall record to 11-6 in singles and 7-5 in doubles play. The 11 singles wins are tied for the seventh most in a single season in school history. Additionally, Smith's 10 victories at the two line are tied for the second most at the position in the recordbooks.
GUSTAVO REACHES 10 WINS IN SINGLES
Freshman Gustavo Guerin posted his 10th singles victory of the season with his 6-2, 6-1 win over Centenary's Evan Magill on April 10. The win, which was his first career “W” at the No. 2 position, helped Guerin finish Summit League play with a 4-1 league mark.
SERGE RETURNS TO THE LINE-UP
Sophomore Serge Ristivojevic was in the line-up for the first time since late February last weekend at The Summit League Cluster. The Australia native missed the previous eight matches for the ?Roos with a bout of pneumonia. During the weekend, Ristivojevic posted a 1-1 singles record and a 2-0 doubles mark. The victories improved his season marks to 8-3 in singles and 8-1 in doubles.
?ROOS EARN FOUR SUMMIT LEAGUE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
UMKC has earned four Summit League Athlete of the Week honors this season. Serge Ristivojevic earned the first honor for the squad 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 then 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.
Junior Bret Berryman received the accolade on March 3 after winning both of his matches at the one line in the 7-0 sweep over Creighton. The Blue Springs, Mo., native then earned his second nod of the season on March 31 after posting a perfect 3-0 singles record in the first Summit League Cluster of the season.
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 tennis team will close out the regular season with a Wednesday afternoon match against No. 25 Northwest Missouri State. The Kangaroos and Bearcats will square off at the Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City beginning at 2 p.m.
THE OPPONENT
Northwest Missouri State, which is ranked No. 25 in the ITA Division II rankings, is currently 12-4 on the season after winning seven of its last eight matches. The Bearcats lone loss during the stretch was a 7-2 defeat at the hands of Washburn on April 4. Daniel Usieto and Felipe Gennari are the top two players for Northwest. Usieto has posted an 11-5 record at the one line, while Gennari has a 14-2 mark at the No. 2 line this season.
LAST COMPETITION
The Kangaroos won two-of-three matches at the final Summit League Cluster of the season last weekend in Fort Wayne, Ind. UMKC opened play with a heart wrenching 4-3 loss to Oral Roberts, as the Golden Eagles rebounded from losing the doubles point to win four of the six singles matches to take the match. On April 10, the ?Roos picked up a pair of league victories, topping South Dakota State (4-0) and Centenary (6-1).
HALE TO BATTLE ALMA MATER
Head Coach Kendell Hale will face a familiar foe when Northwest Missouri State comes to Kansas City on Wednesday. Hale played for the Bearcats during the 1989 and 1990 seasons, where he helped the squad to a No. 12 NCAA Division II ranking. He graduated from Northwest in 1990 with a degree in psychology/sociology.
?ROOS FINISH AS THE REGULAR SEASON RUNNER-UP
UMKC finished The Summit League regular season with a 5-1 record, which was good for a runner-up finish. The finish is the best showing for the squad since the 2001 campaign. The ?Roos now will enter The Summit League Championship as the No. 2 seed, where they will battle third-seeded Western Illinois on April 24. With a victory, UMKC will square off against the winner of the No. 1 seed Oral Roberts/No. 4 seed IPFW match to play for The Summit League's NCAA Tournament berth.
UMKC POSTS 10TH & 11TH VICTORIES IN FORT WAYNE
The Kangaroos picked up their 10th and 11th victories of the season last weekend at The Summit League Cluster in Fort Wayne. The 2009 win total is the ninth double digit total in school history and the victories are tied for the third most in a single season in the record books. The 11 wins are also the most for the program since the 2000 season when the squad finished with a 12-11 mark.
SMITH FINISHES UNBEATEN IN LEAGUE PLAY
Junior Patrick Smith finished league play with a perfect 6-0 singles record and a 2-0 doubles mark to push his overall record to 11-6 in singles and 7-5 in doubles play. The 11 singles wins are tied for the seventh most in a single season in school history. Additionally, Smith's 10 victories at the two line are tied for the second most at the position in the recordbooks.
GUSTAVO REACHES 10 WINS IN SINGLES
Freshman Gustavo Guerin posted his 10th singles victory of the season with his 6-2, 6-1 win over Centenary's Evan Magill on April 10. The win, which was his first career “W” at the No. 2 position, helped Guerin finish Summit League play with a 4-1 league mark.
SERGE RETURNS TO THE LINE-UP
Sophomore Serge Ristivojevic was in the line-up for the first time since late February last weekend at The Summit League Cluster. The Australia native missed the previous eight matches for the ?Roos with a bout of pneumonia. During the weekend, Ristivojevic posted a 1-1 singles record and a 2-0 doubles mark. The victories improved his season marks to 8-3 in singles and 8-1 in doubles.
?ROOS EARN FOUR SUMMIT LEAGUE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
UMKC has earned four Summit League Athlete of the Week honors this season. Serge Ristivojevic earned the first honor for the squad 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 then 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.
Junior Bret Berryman received the accolade on March 3 after winning both of his matches at the one line in the 7-0 sweep over Creighton. The Blue Springs, Mo., native then earned his second nod of the season on March 31 after posting a perfect 3-0 singles record in the first Summit League Cluster of the season.
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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