Championship Central
INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Tuesday morning that Southwest Baptist University and the University of Indianapolis have earned the top divisional seeds for the 2021 GLVC Men's and Women's Tennis Championship Tournaments, which will be hosted by Lewis April 30-May 2 at Lewis University’s Jack Oremus Tennis Complex in Romeoville, Illinois.
Both men's and women’s squads from Indianapolis and Southwest Baptist earned perfect Conference records at 5-0 and 6-0, respectively, to claim the GLVC East and West Division titles, as well as the No. 1 seeds within the division. The UIndy women won its fourth-straight East title, while the Greyhound counterparts won their seventh consecutive. For SBU, this is the first divisional crown on both sides in just their second season as league members, though their first season of competition, following the cancelation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 event marks the 40th annual edition for the women and 42nd for the men. The tournaments will be contested primarily at the Lewis University courts, while the Plainfield East High School courts will be used only on Friday, while Romeoville High School courts will be used on both Friday and Saturday.
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 women’s matches will begin at 9 a.m. with all of the men’s contests starting at approximately 12 p.m., following the conclusion of the morning match-ups and barring any inclement weather.
The women will kick off the postseason with top-seed and top-ranked UIndy facing the No. 4 seed in the West, Quincy University, which went 3-3 in the West at 9 a.m. Central Time. This is the Hawks’ 11th trip to the postseason but first since 2012, while the Greyhounds have a league-best 38 appearances in the postseason. The University of Missouri-St. Louis (5-1), the second seed in the West, squares off against the East's No. 3 seed University of Illinois Springfield (4-2). UIS lost a head-to-head tiebreaker to Maryville University, which earned the East’s second seed thanks to its win over the Prairie Stars on April 10. UMSL earned its 15th berth to the championship, while UIS will be playing in its fourth. Both matches will be played on Friday at Plainfield East HS, and the winners will face each other on Saturday morning.
The No. 1 seed in the West, 13th-ranked Southwest Baptist (6-0), will be in action on Friday as well, doing battle with Lewis (3-3), the No. 4 seed from the East. The Flyers enter their 36th GLVC event and earned the fourth and final divisional seed over McKendree University due to a head-to-head tiebreaker in beating the Bearcats on April 9. Also playing will be the East’s No. 2 seed, Maryville (4-2), facing the West’s third seed Drury University (4-2). The Saints are playing for the title for the seventh time, while Drury will be looking for its ninth crown in its 15th bid. SBU and Lewis will play at the Lewis tennis courts, while Maryville and Drury will compete at Romeoville High School.
Defending Champion UIndy has claimed a league-best 11 women's tennis titles with three in the last five years. Drury is close behind with eight after winning in 2018 and back-to-back in 2013 and 2014, while former league member Saint Joseph’s College earned seven titles during its GLVC tenure. Former league member Northern Kentucky (NKU) won six, and University of Southern Indiana 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.
On Friday for the men’s tournament, beginning at 12 p.m. CT, the top-seeded and fifth-ranked Greyhounds (6-0), will battle Rockhurst (2-3), the No. 4 seed in the West. This is UIndy’s 20th bid to the postseason and the Hawks’ 15th. The West's No. 2 seed and 17th-ranked Drury (4-1) faces East No. 3 Illinois Springfield (4-2). UIS fell to the third seed after losing a head-to-head tiebreaker against Lewis in a loss on April 10. The Prairie Stars are making their third visit to the tournament, while the Panthers enter for the 15th time. Both games will take place at Plainfield East HS, with winners facing one another Saturday afternoon.
In the bottom half of the bracket, the top-seeded and 22nd-ranked Bearcats (5-0) face the East's No. 4 seed, McKendree University (3-3) on Friday. The Bearcats claimed the fourth and final seed in the division thanks to winning a head-to-head tiebreaker over USI with a win on April 16. The winner of that contest will meet the victor between the East's No. 2 seed Lewis (4-2) and Missouri-St. Louis (3-2), which is the No. 3 seed in the West. SBU is seeing the league’s postseason affair for the first time and facing a team that will be in its sixth, while the Flyers will be playing in their 34th championship against the Tritons in their 24th. SBU and McKendree will play at Romeoville HS, while Lewis and UMSL will play on campus at Lewis.
UIndy holds the most men's crowns with 11, boasting the title of four-time defending champs. Former league member Bellarmine earned eight, while Southern Indiana and Drury each have won seven times. Former league member 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 women's championship final match will take place at 9 a.m. on Sunday, while the men’s title contest will take place at approximately 12 p.m. or after the conclusion of the women’s match.
Daily admission is free of charge.
For complete tournament details and coverage information, visit the championship central at
GLVCsports.com/2021tennis.