Men's, Women's Tennis prepare for MVC Championships
04/19/2010 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
April 19, 2010
www.SIUSalukis.com
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Date(s): April 23-25
Location: Wichita, Kan.
Site(s): Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex
Head Coaches: Dann Nelson (76-64 overall; 58-50 at SIU); Audra Nothwehr (42-28 overall and at SIU) - Division I records only
Saluki Assistant Coaches: Hugo Vidal (Men's Graduate Assistant); Ame Blacketer (Women's Graduate Assistant); Fadzai Mawisire
MEN'S NET NOTES
The Southern Illinois Men's Tennis team is in its 87th year of existence... Head Coach Dann Nelson is in his fifth season with the team and holds a 58-50 (.537) mark with the Salukis... SIU enters 2010 as the defending Missouri Valley Conference champions after an 18-7 (5-1 MVC) mark in 2009... The Salukis captured their first MVC crown since 1990 by defeating Drake, 4-3, in the MVC Tournament title match... In the NCAA Tournament, the Dawgs fell to #7 UCLA in the first round, 4-0... The Salukis 18 victories were the most since 1977, when they won a program record 21 matches... The 2009 squad's .720 winning percentage is the best since 1972 (.875).
WOMEN'S NET NOTES
The Southern Illinois Women's Tennis team is in its 35th year of existence... Head Coach Audra Nothwehr is in her third season with the team and holds a 42-28 (.600) mark with the Salukis... Last season, SIU finished with a 17-8 record and were 5-3 in MVC play, finishing third... The Salukis advanced to the MVC Tournament semi-finals before bowing out to Northern Iowa... The Salukis 17-8 record was their best since 2000, when they finished with a 16-6 mark (.727).
ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
The men's and women's teams will both trek to Wichita, Kan., for the 2010 State Farm MVC Team Tennis Championships. The tournament begins on Friday, as the women face sixth-seeded Drake at 9 a.m., while the men begin at 4 p.m. against fourth-seed Creighton.
MEN'S FIELD OVERVIEW
The Salukis come into the 2010 tournament as the five seed, though they are the defending MVC champions. Illinois State earned the top seed in the tournament by running the table and will face the winner of Friday's SIU-Creighton matchup. On the other side of the bracket, Wichita State earned a bye as the two seed and will face the winner of Drake and Bradley.
WOMEN'S FIELD OVERVIEW
The Salukis enter the tournament as the third seed, the same position they had in last season's championship, and will open with a matchup with six seed Drake. The winner of that match will face the victor of the two-seven matchup between Illinois State and Creighton. The other half of the bracket features top-seed Wichita State opening against Bradley, while Northern Iowa duels Evansville in the four-five tilt.
WE MEET AGAIN
Both the men's and women's teams will be facing squads they met up with less than two weeks ago. For the women, they will look to double their success against Drake, as they walked away with a 5-2 win over the Bulldogs in Carbondale on April 11. The men's team, on the other hand, will be looking to exact some revenge on Creighton, as it was the same Bluejays team that narrowly defeated the Salukis, 4-3, in Omaha, Neb., on April 10.
WELL, THIS IS NEW
The MVC tournament will be in a new locale this year, as it moves to Wichita after a three-year stint in Omaha. The last time the championship was played in a city other than Omaha was in 2006, when it was held in Des Moines, Iowa. The last time Wichita State hosted the tournament was in 2004.
TRADITION RICH
The top three seeds in the women's bracket - Wichita State, Illinois State, and Southern Illinois - have combined to win 17 of the 28 total MVC women's tennis championships. Of those three, Wichita State leads the pack with 10 titles.