Men's Tennis Heads To Fort Wayne Vying For Regular Season Title
4/8/2009 11:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
THIS WEEK
The UMKC men's tennis team will head to Fort Wayne, Ind., for the second and final Summit League Cluster of the season on Thursday through Saturday. The Kangaroos will open play with a key league match against Oral Roberts on Thursday at 8 a.m. The squad will then face South Dakota State and Centenary at 8 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
THE OPPONENTS
Oral Roberts enters Thursday morning's match with a 4-6 overall and 3-0 record in league play. The Golden Eagles won all three of their Summit League matches on March 27-28 in Tulsa, defeating Centenary (4-0), IUPUI (4-1) and Western Illinois (4-1).
Centenary brings an 0-8 overall and an 0-4 league mark into the weekend. The tightest match the Gents have played all season was a 4-3 loss to South Dakota State on Feb. 28 in Shreveport.
South Dakota State heads to Fort Wayne with a 4-10 overall and 1-1 league record. In the first league cluster, the Jackrabbits split a pair of matches, topping Centenary (4-2) before falling 4-0 to IPFW.
LAST COMPETITION
The Kangaroos cruised to three straight league victories at the first Summit League Cluster in Tulsa, Okla., on March 27-28. UMKC topped IUPUI (4-1), Western Illinois (4-0) and IPFW (4-1) to return to Kansas City with a perfect 3-0 league record. Bret Berryman and Patrick Smith posted perfect 3-0 singles record during the three matches, while Nick Hays and Gustavo Guerin picked up a pair of victories.
IN SEARCH OF A LEAGUE REGULAR SEASON TITLE
The Kangaroos head to Fort Wayne in search of their first Summit League regular season title since the 2000 season. By all indications, the match between UMKC and Oral Roberts on Thursday will play a large part in determining who wins the league crown and earns the No. 1 seed at The Summit League Championship later this month in Fort Wayne. The Golden Eagles, however, have had UMKC's number, as the ?Roos have not defeated ORU since the 2001-02 season.
UMKC IS OFF TO BEST LEAGUE START SINCE 04-05
With their three straight match wins to open Summit League play, the Kangaroos are off to their best league start since the 2004-05 campaign, when the squad started off 4-0. Overall, the team's nine victories are the most in a single season for UMKC since the squad won 12 matches during the 1999-00 campaign.
?ROOS ROCKIN' IN LEAGUE PLAY
UMKC's Patrick Smith, Dennis Schwarz and Erwin Quintanilla have had strong careers in Summit League play. The trio of juniors have combined to post a 27-8 singles record in league competition over the course over the past two plus seasons.
?ROOS EARN FOURTH SUMMIT LEAGUE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONOR
Junior Bret Berryman earned his second Summit League Athlete of the Week and the team's fourth such honor of the season on March 31. Berryman received the accolade after posting a perfect 3-0 singles record in the first Summit League men's cluster of the season. Berryman earned his first Athlete of the Week nod on March 3 after winning both of his matches at the one line in the 7-0 sweep over Creighton
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.
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 tennis team will head to Fort Wayne, Ind., for the second and final Summit League Cluster of the season on Thursday through Saturday. The Kangaroos will open play with a key league match against Oral Roberts on Thursday at 8 a.m. The squad will then face South Dakota State and Centenary at 8 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
THE OPPONENTS
Oral Roberts enters Thursday morning's match with a 4-6 overall and 3-0 record in league play. The Golden Eagles won all three of their Summit League matches on March 27-28 in Tulsa, defeating Centenary (4-0), IUPUI (4-1) and Western Illinois (4-1).
Centenary brings an 0-8 overall and an 0-4 league mark into the weekend. The tightest match the Gents have played all season was a 4-3 loss to South Dakota State on Feb. 28 in Shreveport.
South Dakota State heads to Fort Wayne with a 4-10 overall and 1-1 league record. In the first league cluster, the Jackrabbits split a pair of matches, topping Centenary (4-2) before falling 4-0 to IPFW.
LAST COMPETITION
The Kangaroos cruised to three straight league victories at the first Summit League Cluster in Tulsa, Okla., on March 27-28. UMKC topped IUPUI (4-1), Western Illinois (4-0) and IPFW (4-1) to return to Kansas City with a perfect 3-0 league record. Bret Berryman and Patrick Smith posted perfect 3-0 singles record during the three matches, while Nick Hays and Gustavo Guerin picked up a pair of victories.
IN SEARCH OF A LEAGUE REGULAR SEASON TITLE
The Kangaroos head to Fort Wayne in search of their first Summit League regular season title since the 2000 season. By all indications, the match between UMKC and Oral Roberts on Thursday will play a large part in determining who wins the league crown and earns the No. 1 seed at The Summit League Championship later this month in Fort Wayne. The Golden Eagles, however, have had UMKC's number, as the ?Roos have not defeated ORU since the 2001-02 season.
UMKC IS OFF TO BEST LEAGUE START SINCE 04-05
With their three straight match wins to open Summit League play, the Kangaroos are off to their best league start since the 2004-05 campaign, when the squad started off 4-0. Overall, the team's nine victories are the most in a single season for UMKC since the squad won 12 matches during the 1999-00 campaign.
?ROOS ROCKIN' IN LEAGUE PLAY
UMKC's Patrick Smith, Dennis Schwarz and Erwin Quintanilla have had strong careers in Summit League play. The trio of juniors have combined to post a 27-8 singles record in league competition over the course over the past two plus seasons.
?ROOS EARN FOURTH SUMMIT LEAGUE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONOR
Junior Bret Berryman earned his second Summit League Athlete of the Week and the team's fourth such honor of the season on March 31. Berryman received the accolade after posting a perfect 3-0 singles record in the first Summit League men's cluster of the season. Berryman earned his first Athlete of the Week nod on March 3 after winning both of his matches at the one line in the 7-0 sweep over Creighton
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.
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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