College club tennis clash delivers drama, nationals spots for WashU, Kansas, SLU

“My freshman year was one of our first years that we have been making it back to nationals,” said Carter Cool, Kansas captain. “Getting to go with the seniors when I was young—and getting to carry on that tradition and legacy—it’s been great for our program overall.”

In the match of the tournament, Saint Louis University held on to survive a late charge from Iowa State. SLU led 22-14 going into the mixed doubles match, but the Cyclones won that match 6-3 to make the score 25-20. When the trailing team wins the mixed doubles set, that match continues into overtime to give the trailing team a chance to mount a comeback.

With SLU needing to win just one game to close the deal, Iowa State reeled off four straight games in OT to pull to 25-24. SLU claimed the next game—and the overall match—to return to nationals after narrowly missing the cut a year ago.

“We had a really tight last match against Iowa State. Congrats to them; they played awesome,” said Laureano Poblete Zardain, SLU’s captain. “They were coming back, but we managed to get it at the end—to clutch up—so I’m pretty happy about that. … It’s everyone’s first time for nationals, so it’s really fun.”

Championship Impact

The USTA Missouri Valley Tennis On Campus Section Championship has been humming since 2005, with WashU winning the inaugural event. This year’s rendition featured 127 players from 15 teams. A total of 57 matchups were played, and 426 sets were completed.

Each match includes five sets: men’s doubles, women’s doubles, men’s singles, women’s singles and mixed doubles. The winner is determined by overall number of games won.

All captains and players received gifts for attending, and the top three teams also earned awards for their efforts. Howes credited officials Mallory Weber and Carol Rollins for their efforts.

“Much appreciation also goes to those who helped make this tournament a success, including Mary Buschmann, Marissa Moment Brown, Laura Jager, Alyssa Stelmach, Manon Eilts, Josh Sellmeyer and Matt Waters,” Howes said. “I am excited and eager to see how our USTA Missouri Valley teams will perform at TOC nationals, and I wish them the best of luck.”

To view a photo album of the Tennis On Campus Section Championship, click here. For full results from the event, click here.

Participating Teams

• Drake University

• University of Iowa

• Iowa State University

• University of Kansas

• Kansas State University

• University of Missouri

• Missouri State University

• University of Nebraska at Kearney

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• University of Northern Iowa

• Oklahoma State University

• Saint Louis University

• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

• Truman State University

• Washington University in St. Louis