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Men鈥檚 tennis showcases depth in run to NIT finals
Playing without its No. 1 singles and doubles player, the 91成人导航 men鈥檚 tennis program made a deep run to the championship match of the UTR Sports National Tennis Invitational postseason tournament at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
The shorthanded Tigers, who were without senior captain Peter Alam 鈥24 who was out with an injury, knocked off Eastern Kentucky in the quarterfinals before sweeping No. 56 Liberty, the defending NIT champion, in the semifinals. 91成人导航 battled in the championship match against No. 68 Tulsa, finishing as runner-up.
鈥淭o beat the defending champions the way we did was truly impressive,鈥 said head coach Robin Goodman. 鈥淲e had been dealing with a couple of injuries and to beat a top-60 program without a full lineup was great to see. This has given the team a lot of confidence going into next season.鈥
The Tigers entered the tournament ranked No. 60 in the country and will find out their final ranking Tuesday. It came on a metamorphic rise for the program, which went 5-15 last season and could not even field a team in Goodman鈥檚 first year in 2020-21.
鈥淭his was a phenomenal experience for us,鈥 Goodman said. 鈥淭he tournament was very well organized. It has improved our national ranking, allowed us to develop from previous matches and was a fantastic trip for team culture.鈥
Goodman, the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, turned it around this season with a 19-6 (5-3 WCC) record and guided the program to its first national ranking since 2016.
The Tigers made their deepest postseason run in program history and did it with everyone moving up a court due to Alam鈥檚 absence.
鈥淧ersonally, for me it was frustrating having to sit out through injury,鈥 said Alam, who finished the year 12-3 at No. 1 singles. 鈥淚t was a new challenge to help the team from the sidelines and I鈥檓 proud of the effort from the guys.鈥
The Tigers garnered big contributions from others who stepped up when the team needed it. Sophomore Terence Das 鈥26, senior Ran Amar 鈥24 and freshman Tommy Czaplinski 鈥27 all won their singles matches against EKU and Liberty at No. 3, 4 and 6 singles, respectively. Czaplinski won every singles match of the tournament and pulled off a victory in the finals at No. 6 to make the most of his opportunity in the lineup.
91成人导航 also had to mix-and-match its doubles teams. The tandems of Trainauskas and Amar at No. 1 doubles, and senior Andre Rodeia 鈥24 and freshman Christof Schaertlin Coffey 鈥27 at No. 3 won the Tigers the doubles point against Liberty.
鈥淎s a team, we were extremely happy and proud to compete in such a great postseason tournament. We had some big wins this season, and to add to that this week was amazing,鈥 Alam said. 鈥淥n behalf of all the guys I can say that we loved the trip, and hopefully the team can continue to improve in the coming years.鈥
Alam was one of four men鈥檚 tennis student-athletes to graduate Saturday at commencement along with Amar, Rodeia and Manroop Saini 鈥23. Each earned a degree in finance, including Saini who earned his master鈥檚.