Roos Play Three Non-Conference Matches to End Regular Season
4/11/2016 1:48:00 PM | Men's Tennis
This Week and Up Next
UMKC men's tennis (13-7, 4-1 WAC) will close the regular season with three non-conference matches over the next seven days, facing Saint Louis on Tuesday on the road, Illinois State at home on Friday, and Rockhurst for senior day on Monday. After that, they will take a week off before heading to the WAC Championships from April 29-May 1.
The Opponents
Saint Louis enters the match at 10-5 overall. They are led by David Ferragut, who has posted a 14-1 dual record this spring at the No. 1 position. The Roos are 15-4 all-time against SLU, winning the last five in a row, including a 6-1 home win last year.
Illinois State comes into the week with an 8-10 overall record, including wins against common opponents Creighton, Omaha and Chicago State. They are led in wins by Christoffer Greve, who has 19 out of the 3-5 positions. The Roos are 0-2 against ISU, last meeting in 2005.
The final match of the regular season is against neigboring Rockhurst, who is 6-5 on the season. Nicolas Riveros has the top win total with eight this spring, playing both No. 5 and 6. UMKC is 5-1 all-time against the Hawks, winning the last three meetings, including a 7-0 contest a year ago.
All-Time Charts
The Roos have four current players ranked in the singles all-time chart with Andrey Smirnov and Mike Psarros ranked sixth all-time with 43 wins, while Airam Castellano is eighth at 42 and Vinh Pham is 13th with 38. For a single season, Castellano extended the school record last week with his 23rd win, while Amaury Navette is second with 20 wins. Psarros is also in the top 10 with 18 victories.
In doubles play, Psarros has 47 wins to rank tied for first, while Uldis Gaismins is tied for second with 45 victories, and Smirnov is tied for eighth with 41. For a single season, Castellano and Psarros each have 20 wins, tied for 1st.
Roos in the NCAA's
UMKC's has six appearances overall in the NCAA Tournament, falling to USC (1999), UCLA (2000), Baylor (2009), Texas (2011), Oklahoma (2012) and UCLA (2013) in the first round.
WAC Honors
UMKC has been honored by the WAC twice this year, with Airam Castellano earning Player of the Month honors back in October, and Mike Psarros grabbing Player of the Week accolades on March 1.
Head Coach Kendell Hale
Kendell Hale is in his ninth season as the head coach of the UMKC men's and women's tennis program. Overall, the 2015-16 season is Hale's 22nd as a collegiate head coach, where he has compiled a 421-342 overall combined men's and women's record. On the women's side, he has a record of 77-118 at UMKC, while boasting a 109-89 mark with the men.
Hale has orchestrated an amazing turnaround with the men's and women's tennis programs since joining the department in 2008. He has guided both the men's and women's squads to numerous school-record win totals and has produced five conference regular season titles, four conference tournament crowns and four NCAA Tournament appearances. He was also selected at the 2010 USTPA National Coach of the Year for his turnaround effort, as well as 2009 USPTA Missouri Valley College Coach of the Year, the 2011 Summit League Men's Coach of the Year, and 2013 SL Women's Coach of the Year.
In eight seasons at the helm, Hale has coached 29 all-league honorees on the men's side and 16 all-league selections on the women's side. He's also coached three Conference Players of the Year and three League Newcomers of the Year.
He has also coached the nine winningest players in school history on the women's side, and four of the five top career win leaders on the men's side.
Players Mentioned
