'Roos Look to Defend Summit League Title, Going For Third Straight
4/25/2013 11:10:00 AM | Men's Tennis
THIS WEEK
Kansas City (11-10, 5-0 SL) looks to make it three NCAA Tournaments in a row this weekend when it heads to the Summit League Championships. UMKC faces fourth-seeded IPFW on Friday at 9:00 a.m. CT in a tough semifinal round battle. The time was moved due to early morning temperatures.
THE OPPONENTS
#2 Seed South Dakota State (11-10 overall, 4-1 Summit League)
Regular Season Titles: None
Best Championship Finish: t-3rd (2012)
Tournament Titles: None
Against the 2013 Field: 2-1 (L, 0-4 at UMKC; W, 4-3 vs. IUPUI; W, 4-1 vs. Fort Wayne)
#3 Seed IUPUI (5-18 overall, 2-3 Summit League)
Regular Season Titles: None
Best Championship Finish: 2nd (2004, 2011, 2012)
Tournament Titles: None
Against the 2013 Field: 1-2 (L, 3-4 vs. SDSU; L, 3-4 at UMKC; W, 4-2 vs. Fort Wayne)
#4 Seed Fort Wayne (9-16 overall, 2-3 Summit League)
Regular Season Titles: 1 (2012)
Best Championship Finish: t-3rd (2009, 2012)
Tournament Titles: None
Against the 2013 Field: 0-3 (L, 2-4 at IUPUI; L, 2-4 vs. UMKC; L, 1-4 vs. SDSU)
WHO IS COMPETING
Kansas City will play Grant Fleming, Nino Hasandedic, Abdul Alawadhi, Tim Akhmedov, David Heckler and Andrey Smirnov this week.
LAST TIME OUT
Kansas City comes off five straight wins, including its last time out to clinch its fourth consecutive regular season crown at IPFW on April 13 by a 4-2 margin.
FOUR STRAIGHT IN THE LEAGUE
Kansas City claimed its fourth consecutive Summit League regular season title this season, going 5-0 in league play. The 'Roos enter the league tournament as the No. 1 seed. Of the four tournament teams, only Kansas City has won a Summit League Tournament title. The Kangaroos have won five championships, including each of the past two.
IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
Kansas City is 7-2 in the Summit League Championships under Kendell Hale, and has won its last four conference tourney duals. Hale has helped the 'Roos to three Summit League titles in his first five seasons. All-time, UMKC has won the tournament five times.
RECORD WATCH
Grant Fleming has compiled 48 wins in singles play during his career as a 'Roo, matching the school record of 48 wins. Abdul Alawadhi is not far behind, posting 46 wins. Both are in the top three in school history. Tomas Patino and Fleming lead the team with 17 wins this season, one shy of the one-year record of 18.
In doubles play, Fleming has 35 wins, ranking 10th all-time, while Alawadhi has posted 33 victories to rank 11th. Patino leads the team this season with 18 doubles wins, matching the single season record mark.
'ROOS IN THE NCAAS
Last season was UMKC's fifth appearance overall and the second straight in the NCAA Tournament, falling to USC (1999), UCLA (2000), Baylor (2009), Texas (2011) and Oklahoma (2012).
HEAD COACH KENDELL HALE
Kendell Hale is in his fifth season as the head coach of the UMKC men's tennis program. Overall, the 2012-13 season is Hale's 19th as a collegiate head coach, and compiled a 340-242 overall combined record coming into 2012-13. He has a current 74-56 mark with the men. Hale has coached 19 all-league selections and has taken the 'Roos to three regular season titles, three tournament crowns, and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
In 2012, the squad overcame numerous injuries early in the season and captured a share of its third consecutive regular season Summit League title, while hosting the conference tournament and storming through the bracket without dropping a point in wins over South Dakota State and IUPUI to claim the league tournament crown and advance to the NCAA Tournament. UMKC had four all-conference selections, as well as the Player (Grant Fleming) and Newcomer (Tomas Patino) of the Year in the league.
Players Mentioned
