'Roos Head To Fort Wayne Looking For A Summit League Championship
4/23/2009 12:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis
THIS WEEK
The UMKC men's tennis team will travel to Fort Wayne, Ind., this weekend for the 2009 Summit League Tennis Championship. The second seeded Kangaroos will open play against No. 3 seed Western Illinois on Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. (CDT) at the Dr. Rudy and Rhonda Kachmann Tennis Center. With a victory, UMKC would square off against the winner of the Oral Roberts/IPFW match on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. with a berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
LAST MATCH
The Kangaroos picked up their 12th victory of the season with a tight 4-3 victory over No. 25 Northwest Missouri State on April 15 in Kansas City. UMKC's Patrick Smith clinched the win for the team with his come-from-behind three-set victory over Felipe Gennari at the No. 2 position.
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Kangaroos will be making their fifth straight and 14th overall league championship appearance this weekend in Fort Wayne. UMKC, however, will be looking for its first win at the event since the 2000-01 season when it topped Valparaiso (4-1) to advance to the final.
Since joining the league, the ?Roos have claimed a pair of league tournament titles and NCAA Tournament berths, as the squad won the title in back-to-back years in 1999 and 2000.
UMKC AGAINST THE FIELD
UMKC enters the tournament with a 2-1 record against the three other teams that have qualified for the Championship.
- The ?Roos swept past Western Illinois, 4-0, on March 28 behind singles wins by Bret Berryman, Patrick Smith, Dennis Schwarz and Nick Hays.
- UMKC also topped IPFW, 4-1, on March 28 as Berryman, Smith, Hays and Gustavo Guerin secured singles victories.
- Oral Roberts handed UMKC its lone league loss on April 9 in Fort Wayne. The ?Roos opened the match by taking the doubles points, before the Golden Eagles won four-of-the-six singles matches to win the match. With the score tied 3-3, ORU's Alexander Dargel held off Guerin to clinch the victory by the scores of 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (6).
SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS
The Leathernecks enter Friday's match with a 9-15 overall record and a 4-2 mark in Summit League play. WIU has three players that have posted double digit victory totals this season with Sean Ragee-Nelson leading the way with 15 wins. No. 1 singles player Zach Frisch, meanwhile, has an even 14-14 mark on the year.
?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.
UMKC TALLIES 12TH VICTORY
The Kangaroos posted their 12th victory of the season with their 4-3 win over Northwest Missouri State on April 15. The 12 wins are the most for the program since the 1999-00 season and the total is tied for the second most wins in a single season in school history.
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, and he finished the regular season with a 12-6 overall record and an 8-5 mark in doubles play. The 12 singles wins are tied for the fourth most in a single season in school history. Additionally, Smith's 11 victories at the two line are tied for the most in a single season with former ?Roo Craig Gansen.
GUSTAVO JOINS SINGLE SEASON TOP-10
Freshman Gustavo Guerin posted his 11th singles victory of the season with his 6-2, 6-0 win over Northwest Missouri State's Vijit Sehgal on April 15. The 11 singles victories are tied for the seventh most in a single season in UMKC history. The Brazil native also has an 8-1 doubles mark while playing with sophomore Serge Ristivojevic. The duo is a perfect 7-0 at the No. 3 doubles position on the year.
SERGE IS 18-4
Sophomore Serge Ristivojevic has a combined record of 18-4 in singles and doubles this season. The Australia native is 9-3 in singles, including a perfect 6-0 at the three line. In doubles, Ristivojevic has posted a 9-1 record, which includes a perfect 7-0 record with Gustavo Guerin at the three line.
?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 travel to Fort Wayne, Ind., this weekend for the 2009 Summit League Tennis Championship. The second seeded Kangaroos will open play against No. 3 seed Western Illinois on Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. (CDT) at the Dr. Rudy and Rhonda Kachmann Tennis Center. With a victory, UMKC would square off against the winner of the Oral Roberts/IPFW match on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. with a berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
LAST MATCH
The Kangaroos picked up their 12th victory of the season with a tight 4-3 victory over No. 25 Northwest Missouri State on April 15 in Kansas City. UMKC's Patrick Smith clinched the win for the team with his come-from-behind three-set victory over Felipe Gennari at the No. 2 position.
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Kangaroos will be making their fifth straight and 14th overall league championship appearance this weekend in Fort Wayne. UMKC, however, will be looking for its first win at the event since the 2000-01 season when it topped Valparaiso (4-1) to advance to the final.
Since joining the league, the ?Roos have claimed a pair of league tournament titles and NCAA Tournament berths, as the squad won the title in back-to-back years in 1999 and 2000.
UMKC AGAINST THE FIELD
UMKC enters the tournament with a 2-1 record against the three other teams that have qualified for the Championship.
- The ?Roos swept past Western Illinois, 4-0, on March 28 behind singles wins by Bret Berryman, Patrick Smith, Dennis Schwarz and Nick Hays.
- UMKC also topped IPFW, 4-1, on March 28 as Berryman, Smith, Hays and Gustavo Guerin secured singles victories.
- Oral Roberts handed UMKC its lone league loss on April 9 in Fort Wayne. The ?Roos opened the match by taking the doubles points, before the Golden Eagles won four-of-the-six singles matches to win the match. With the score tied 3-3, ORU's Alexander Dargel held off Guerin to clinch the victory by the scores of 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (6).
SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS
The Leathernecks enter Friday's match with a 9-15 overall record and a 4-2 mark in Summit League play. WIU has three players that have posted double digit victory totals this season with Sean Ragee-Nelson leading the way with 15 wins. No. 1 singles player Zach Frisch, meanwhile, has an even 14-14 mark on the year.
?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.
UMKC TALLIES 12TH VICTORY
The Kangaroos posted their 12th victory of the season with their 4-3 win over Northwest Missouri State on April 15. The 12 wins are the most for the program since the 1999-00 season and the total is tied for the second most wins in a single season in school history.
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, and he finished the regular season with a 12-6 overall record and an 8-5 mark in doubles play. The 12 singles wins are tied for the fourth most in a single season in school history. Additionally, Smith's 11 victories at the two line are tied for the most in a single season with former ?Roo Craig Gansen.
GUSTAVO JOINS SINGLE SEASON TOP-10
Freshman Gustavo Guerin posted his 11th singles victory of the season with his 6-2, 6-0 win over Northwest Missouri State's Vijit Sehgal on April 15. The 11 singles victories are tied for the seventh most in a single season in UMKC history. The Brazil native also has an 8-1 doubles mark while playing with sophomore Serge Ristivojevic. The duo is a perfect 7-0 at the No. 3 doubles position on the year.
SERGE IS 18-4
Sophomore Serge Ristivojevic has a combined record of 18-4 in singles and doubles this season. The Australia native is 9-3 in singles, including a perfect 6-0 at the three line. In doubles, Ristivojevic has posted a 9-1 record, which includes a perfect 7-0 record with Gustavo Guerin at the three line.
?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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