College Tennis News - Blazers win third straight Kerry Seward Title

Crawfordsville, Ind., Mar. 29-30 – The high-flying Vincennes University tennis team has made life miserable for most of the four-year schools they’ve played this spring.
The Trailblazers added seven more victims to their win total over the weekend, winning the annual NCAA Division III Wabash College Kerry Seward Invitational Tournament for the third straight year. (Complete Tournament Results)
VU (20-2) scored 69 points in winning seven of the nine flights leaving Coe, Ia., and Albion, Mich., tied for a distant second place with 44 points each. Coe was given the second place nod because they had two spots in final rounds.
It’s good when you play solid division three teams,” Vincennes coach Ron Albers said. “The quality of the field this year was much deeper with Coe (Ia.), Carthage (Wis.) and Albion (Mich.).”
VU went 18-0 in singles with only three matches splitting sets.
Freshman McKenzie Bean lost only five games in three matches at No. 6 singles including a 6-1, 6-1 win over Dawson Shaver of Coe in the final.
“Mack has been working hard on different styles of play,” Albers said. “He’s very good off the ground. He’s worked hard the last 3-4 weeks to get more offensive-minded.”
Sophomore Charles Hodge dominated his first two matches at fifth singles and came from a break down in both sets to defeat Scott Stegemann of Coe, 6-4, 6-4, in the championship match.
“Hodge played a really good player in the final,” Albers said. “He played the big points well and also played well in tight situations.”
VU’s only losses in 27 weekend matches came at No.2 and No. 3 doubles.
Sophomore Binky Nikou and freshman Jimmy Dunseith lost to Andrew Lulek and Ben Miller of Albion, 8-6, in the second doubles semi-final while sophomore Jaime Esteban and freshman Tony Kanavos lost 8-5 to William Pelak and Ryan Waldon of Wabash in the third doubles championship match.
“Nikou and Dunseith were broken in first game and it stood up the rest of the way,” Albers said. “We couldn’t put enough good returns together to get a break.”
“Wabash came out and played very well at third doubles and we didn’t,” he said. “They took it to us and led 5-0. In an eight-game pro set, it’s tough to come back.”
Albers said he knew his team was playing well, but didn’t really think about the final team score until sophomore David Jackson came off the court after a convincing 7-5, 6-0, win over Pelak in the No. 1 singles championship match.
“It was about us playing well as a team,” he said. “We don’t talk about scores even when they’re playing individual matches. It’s about the level of intensity and what we’re doing in each match.”
“If you perform where you need to, you’ll win most of the time.”
He admits this year’s team is farther along at this point toward reaching its goals.
“I don’t like to compare year to year,” he said. “But, this team is handling every challenge that’s in front of them, growing and improving every match.”
The Blazers play their first junior college opponents of the season Friday and Saturday at the Lewis & Clark Quad tournament in Godfrey, Ill., when they face perennial power Johnson County, Kan. The field also includes Lake Land, Ill.
Kerry Seward Invitational Tournament
Vincennes 69, Coe 44, Albion 44, Wabash 42, Carthage 38, Transylvania 36, Ohio Northern 35, Hanover 16
Singles
First Flight
David Jackson (V) def. Andrew Lulek (A), 6-2, 6-0
Jackson def. Miguel Yunes (Car), 6-4, 7-5
Jackson def. William Pelak (W), 7-5, 6-3, Championship
Second Flight
Jaime Esteban (V) def. Sam Zerbib (Coe), 6-0, 6-2
Esteban def. Bart Schenk (ON), 6-2, 6-0
Esteban def. Jack Shiro (Car), 0-6, 6-1, 1-0(5), Championship
Third Flight
Chris King (V) def. Steven Craig (H), 6-2, 6-0
King def. Brandon Still (A), 6-4, 6-4
King def. Sergio Lopez (Car), 6-2, 0-6, 1-0(8), Championship
Fourth Flight
Binky Nikou (V) def. Ben Miller (A), 6-2, 1-6, 1-0(7)
Nikou def. Tom Jennings (Coe), 6-3, 6-0
Nikou def. Kyle Clayton (T), 6-2, 6-2, Championship
Fifth Flight
Charles Hodge (V) def. Kyle Webb (ON), 6-1, 6-2
Hodge def. Brent Parshall (A), 6-2, 6-1
Hodge def. Scott Stegerman (Coe), 6-4, 6-4, Championship
Sixth Flight
McKenzie Bean (V) def. Billy Evans (W), 6-1, 6-1
Bean def. Ben Voorhorst (H), 6-1, 6-0
Bean def. Dawson Shaver (Coe), 6-1, 6-1, Championship
Doubles
First Flight
Jackson-King (V) def. Micah Scott-Bart Schenck (ON), 8-3
Jackson-King def. Tom Jennings-Stegemann (Coe), 8-2
Jackson-King def. Yunes-Lopez (Car), 8-6, Championship
Second Flight
Nikou-Jimmy Dunseith (V) def. Sam Pollom-Craig (H), 8-0
Lulek-Miller (A) def. Nikou-Dunseith, 8-6
Nikou-Dunseith def. Lee Gammon-Collin St. Clair (T), 8-2, 3rd Place
Third Flight
Esteban-Tony Kanavos (V) def. Schwenke-Joey Perkins (Car), 8-2
Esteban-Kanavos def. Thomas Major-Jay Vaidya (ON), 8-2
Pelak-Ryan Waldon (W) def. Esteban-Kanavos, 8-5, Championship