San Antonio - The seventh-ranked
Trinity Tigers men's tennis team will defend its title by
hosting the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship
Friday, April 25, through Sunday, April 27.
The Butch Newman Tennis Center will serve as
headquarters for the seven-team dual-match event. Top-seeded
Trinity, which received a bye, begins play 8:00 a.m. on April 26 in
the semifinals.
Trinity plays the winner of fourth-seeded
Schreiner University and No. 5 Austin College, who meet in the
quarterfinals on April 25. Second-seeded Texas Lutheran
University takes on No. 7 Centenary College, and No. 3 Colorado
College plays No. 6 Southwestern University, also on April 25
in the quarterfinals.
The April 27 championship match is slated for
8:00 a.m., with the winner assured of a spot in the NCAA Division
III Playoffs. There will also be consolation matches at the SCAC
tournament.
The Tigers won the 2013 SCAC Championship with a
9-0 victory over Colorado College, played on Trinity's
courts. It marked the Tigers' 18th overall conference title,
and the fourth under Head Coach Russell McMindes' leadership.
Trinity swept Austin College 9-0 in the semifinals.
Coach McMindes was elected the SCAC Men's
Tennis Coach of the year for the fourth consecutive time. Aaron
Skinner, now a junior, was selected as the SCAC Men's Tennis
Player of the Year. Joining Skinner on the All-SCAC Team were
senior Greg Haugen, along with juniors Charlie Curtis and Jordan
Mayer.
Following the SCAC Championship, the Tigers
advanced to the NCAA Playoffs at Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Trinity first
took out Ohio Northern University 5-0, and then beat Gustavus
Adolphus College 5-2 in the second round. The victory earned the
Tigers a trip to the NCAA Championship at Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Sixth-ranked Williams College eliminated Trinity in the
quarterfinals with a 5-1 win.
Skinner advanced to the singles semifinals of
the NCAA individual tournament. Trinity was represented in the
semis for the second time in three years.
The 2014 NCAA Championships are slated for May
19-21 (team) and May 22-24 (singles and doubles) at
Claremont, California.
Last fall, sophomore Paxton Deuel won the
Division III consolation singles title at the USTA/Intercollegiate
Tennis Association National Small College Championships at Fort
Myers, Florida. Junior Brandon Thompson and sophomore Eliot Guin
competed in the National Small College Doubles
Tournament.
Trinity stands at 20-6 this season, and is on a
six-match winning streak. A particularly successful trip occurred
in March when the Tigers won four of five matches in Washington and
California. Three of those victories were against nationally ranked
teams, UC-Santa Cruz, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, and the University of
Redlands. The Tigers also beat Whitman University. In February, the
Tigers captured third place at the ITA DIII National Team Indoor
Championship with a 7-2 win over Case Western Reserve University at
Mayfield Village, Ohio.
Records-wise this season, Deuel stands at 15-6
at No. 1 singles. Haugen is 15-8, largely at Nos. 2 and 3 singles.
Mayer holds an excellent 18-2 mark, with the majority of matches
coming on the No. 5 line. Curtis is 11-2, mainly at No. 6 singles.,
while Skinner and senior Nico Moreno each has a record of 11-11.
First-year player Chas Mayer has posted a mark of 7-2.
Deuel and Moreno have registered a 14-10 record at No. 1
doubles. Haugen and Jordan Mayer, the main No. 2 doubles tandem,
stand at 13-6. Curtis and first-year player Clayton Niess, the No.
3 doubles stalwarts, boast a 12-1 record.
Trinity will open play at the three-day tournament on
Saturday morning. The Tigers received a first-round bye as
the top seed in the event, and will begin play at 8:00
a.m.
