Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, the Great Lakes Valley Conference is celebrating its 40th anniversary by recognizing 40 teams that made a significant impact both on campus and at the Conference level. Our next featured team is the 2006 Drury men’s tennis squad.
40 TEAMS | 40 YEARS
WEEK 32: 2006 Drury Men’s Tennis
SEASON SUMMARY
The 2006 Drury men’s tennis program captured the GLVC Championship in its first season as a Conference member, while sweeping postseason honors as well. GLVC Coach of the Year Amine Boustani mentored GLVC Player of the Year Stefan Borg and GLVC Freshman of the Year Ali Chaudhry, along with fellow All-GLVC members Matias Oddone and Krisztian Kaplan, to a perfect 5-0 record in league action and a 25-1 record – the best overall mark in the GLVC men’s tennis history. At the GLVC Championships, hosted by SIU Edwardsville, Drury was the top seed in the West Division and quickly eliminated No. 4E Saint Joseph’s 5-0 in the quarterfinals. The Panthers would blank No. 3E Southern Indiana by the same score in the semifinals, and then top No. 2W Rockhurst 5-1 in the finals. In the NCAA Championships, Drury continued its dominance with a 5-0 shutout over Salem International in the Great Lakes Regional and then mirrored the GLVC final with another 5-1 victory over Rockhurst in the regional final. In the round of 16, Drury blanked Northwest Missouri State 5-0 before ending its season with a 5-3 national quarterfinal loss to Valdosta State. The Panthers finished the year ranked third in the final ITA National Poll, while Oddone was the top-ranked singles players in the country. Borg and Chaudhry finished 23rd and 50th, respectively, while the tandem of Omar Laalej/Borg was ranked 21st.
IMPRESSIVE INDIVIDUALS
Stefan Borg
- Three-time All-GLVC First Team (2006-07-08)
- Finished career with a 62-8 singles and 67-22 doubles record
Ali Chaudhry
- Two-time All-GLVC First Team (2006-07)
- Finished career with a 37-7 singles and 37-16 doubles record
Matias Oddone
- ITA Singles Champion
- Midwest Region Player of the Year (2006)
- All-GLVC First Team (2006)
- Finished career with a 83-11 singles and 91-25 doubles record
- Inducted into Class of 2010 of Drury Hall of Fame
Krisztian Kaplan
- All-GLVC First Team (2006)
- Finished career with a 53-14 singles and 65-12 doubles record
Amine Boustani
- Three-time GLVC Coach of the Year (2006-07-08)
- Finished career with a 271-62 record
- Inducted into Class of 2010 of Drury Hall of Fame
LASTING LEGACY
The 2006 Drury men’s tennis team earned the GLVC Championship in its first season as a Conference member and has continued to be a powerhouse program. In fact, the Panthers went on to earn the 2007 and 2018 GLVC Championships, and have since claimed the 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015 titles. Their seven league crowns currently rank tied for third in GLVC history, just behind Bellarmine’s eight titles and UIndy’s league-leading 10 championships. And while the Panthers have certainly suffered setbacks in the GLVC Championship Tournament, they have been perfect in league play during the regular season. Drury entered the 2019 season with a perfect 77-0 record in Conference play since 2006. Jarrod Smith has since taken over the reins of the decorated program and was the 2012 and 2015 GLVC Men’s Coach of the Year. Following Matias Oddone’s GLVC Player of the Year honor in 2006, Stefan Borg claimed the next two, while Andy Blair was also a two-time recipient of the league’s top honor in 2012 and 2013. Maxi Hepp also scored Player of the Year honors in 2016. In addition, Blair was the 2011 GLVC Freshman of the Year and Kay Bartmann was the league’s top newcomer in 2016.