Championship Central | Tournament Brackets:
M |
W
INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Saturday evening that Bellarmine University, Drury University, and the University of Indianapolis have earned the top divisional seeds for the 2018 GLVC Men's and Women's Tennis Championship Tournaments, which will be hosted by Drury April 20-22 at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Missouri.
On the men’s side, Indianapolis (6-0) and Drury (5-0) earned perfect Conference records to claim the GLVC East and West Division titles, respectively, as well as the No. 1 seeds within the division. For the women, Bellarmine and Indianapolis were co-divisional champions of the East with 4-1 records, but the Knights claimed the No. 1 seed in the division by virtue of its 6-3 victory over the Greyhounds on March 30 for the head-to-head tiebreak win. Drury picked up the top seed and the West title based off its unblemished 6-0 record in the Conference.
The 2018 event marks the 38th annual edition for the women and 40th for the men. The tournaments will be contested wholly at the Cooper Tennis Complex, rain or shine, as there are 16 outdoor courts and another 12 indoors.
The top-four teams based on highest divisional winning percentage from each of the GLVC's two divisions earn a spot in the two eight-team tournaments. Both events are single-elimination with a championship match conducted on Sunday. All of the men’s matches will begin at 9 a.m. with all of the women’s contests starting at approximately 1 p.m., following the conclusion of the morning match-ups and barring any inclement weather.
The men will kick off the postseason with top-seed and seventh-ranked Indianapolis (19-2, 5-0 GLVC) facing the No. 4 seed in the West, 42nd-ranked Rockhurst University (14-6, 3-3). University of Missouri-St. Louis (12-3, 5-1), the second seed in the West, squares off against the East's No. 3 seed University of Southern Indiana (8-12, 3-2). Both matches will be played on Friday, and the winners will face each other on Saturday morning.
The No. 1 seed in the West, 20th-ranked Drury (16-3, 6-0), will be in action on Friday as well, doing battle with McKendree University (5-10, 2-3), the No. 4 seed from the East. Also playing will be the East’s No. 2 seed, 45th-ranked Lewis University (10-9, 4-1), facing the West’s third seed Maryville University (6-7, 3-2). Maryville concludes its conference season on Tuesday with a rescheduled match against Truman State. If the Saints were to lose and fall to 3-3 in league play, they still retain the No. 3 seed over Rockhurst given their 5-4 win against the Hawks on April 13.
UIndy holds the most men's crowns with nine, boasting the title of two-time defending champs with back-to-back trophies in 2016 and 2017. Bellarmine is close behind with eight, while Southern Indiana and Drury each have won seven times. Former league member Northern Kentucky (NKU) has five titles, while Rockhurst (2) and former league member SIU Edwardsville (2) are the only other schools to have earned a GLVC Men's Tennis Championship.
The top-seeded and 27th-ranked Knights (20-2, 4-1), whose divisional title and No. 1 seed are program firsts, will battle Rockhurst (9-9, 3-3), the No. 4 seed in the West, on Friday for the women’s tournament, while the West's No. 2 seed and 31st-ranked Missouri-St. Louis (12-4, 5-1) faces East No. 3 University of Illinois Springfield (12-7, 3-2). The winners will face one another Saturday afternoon.
In the bottom half of the bracket, the top-seeded and 16th-ranked Panthers (15-1, 6-0) face 24th-ranked Lewis (10-8, 3-2), the East's No. 4 seed, on Friday. The winner of that contest will meet the victor between the East's No. 2 seed and 25th-ranked UIndy (14-5, 4-1) and Maryville (9-6, 3-2), which is the No. 3 seed in the West. Maryville concludes its conference season on Tuesday with a rescheduled match against Truman. If the Saints were to lose and fall to 3-3 in league play, they still retain the No. 3 seed over Rockhurst given their 8-1 win over the Hawks on April 13.
Defending champion UIndy has claimed a league-best 10 women's tennis titles with two in the last three years. Drury is close behind with seven after winning back-to-back in 2013 and 2014, while former league member Saint Joseph’s College also earned seven titles. Former league member NKU has won six, and USI has claimed three. Lewis won twice in 2012 and 2016, while Bellarmine (1989) and former league member SIU Edwardsville (1995) have both recorded one Conference championship.
The men's championship final match will take place at 9 a.m. on Sunday, while the women’s title contest will take place at approximately 1 p.m.
Daily admission is free of charge.
For complete tournament details and coverage information, visit the championship central site at
GLVCsports.com/2018tennis.