Southern Illinoise University Athletics
SIU Men Prepare for Prestigious Tennis Tournament
03/13/2001 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
October 19, 2000
Carbondale, Ill. -
The best has been saved for last. On October 19-23, Southern Illinois University Carbondale will be represented by Valentin Epure and Dante Santa Cruz at the prestigious Region V ITA Mid-American Tennis Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma on October 19-23.
The tournament will provide top single Epure (4-4) and doubles team Epure & Santa Cruz (7-2) a chance to compete against some of the top tennis players in the country and earn a national ranking in the final competition of the fall season.
"This a bonus tournament for our top players. It's a great opportunity and another chance to prove something and beat some nationally ranked players. Dante and Val beat the #1 doubles seed at the Middle Tennessee State Tournament to begin the year, which was a nationally ranked team from Vanderbilt. That1s the kind of win that moves you up a level, because so much of tennis is psychological and where you think you are," said Missy Jeffrey, Saluki men's tennis coach. "Val came within a couple of points of knocking off the #1 seed in singles that same weekend, who was also from Vanderbilt and ranked #51 in the country. This tournament gives Val and Dante and Val together another opportunity to face some nationally ranked teams and pull off some wins and move in the direction of a national ranking."
Epure and Santa Cruz will have a chance to prove themselves against teams from Bradley, Colorado, Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Kansas, Missouri-Kansas City, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Saint Louis, SW Missouri State, Tulsa, and Wichita State at the Region V ITA Mid-American Championships. A win or two over nationally ranked opponents will not surprise Coach Jeffrey.
"If they come back with any national ranked wins, I'll be very pleased. They are very capable of doing that, so I don't feel like I'm asking them for something that's difficult to do, granted it's not easy either," Jeffrey added. "In order to do that they just need to play good tennis, stay focused during the entire match, and reduce their unforced errors. That's all they need to do, they don't need to play great tennis, they don1t need to play out of their minds, they just need to play their games and play well and they can do it. I hope they take advantage of their opportunities."
The Region V Mid-American Regional Championships will help Epure and Santa Cruz prepare for the spring season.
"We're looking at the first tournament of spring, which is the MVC Individual Championships. This is the toughest tournament they'll be at this year and it's excellent preparation for the next time they compete, which is the MVC Individual Championships," said Jeffrey. "It's a good thing to come off some good matches, even if you lose, because it makes you work harder. This will help jump start the off season and get them focused on January."
