Championship Central | Brackets:
M,
W
INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Saturday evening that Drury University and the University of Indianapolis have earned the top divisional seeds for the 2019 GLVC Men's and Women's Tennis Championship Tournaments, which will be hosted by UIndy April 19-21 at Center Grove High School in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Both men's and women’s squads from Indianapolis and Drury 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 third-straight East title, while the Greyhound counterparts won their sixth consecutive. For Drury, the men claimed 10 West titles in a row, while the Panther women went back-to-back.
The 2019 event marks the 39th annual edition for the women and 41st for the men. The tournaments will be contested at the Center Grove High School courts for the duration of the event, while the Center Grove Middle School will host one men’s and one women’s quarterfinal on Friday.
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 1 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 fourth-ranked Indianapolis (18-0, 5-0 GLVC) – which finished the regular season undefeated – facing the No. 4 seed in the West, Rockhurst University (10-12, 3-3). Maryville University (11-4, 5-1), the second seed in the West, squares off against the East's No. 3 seed and 48th-ranked University of Illinois Springfield (13-4, 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, 21st-ranked Drury (14-3, 6-0), will be in action on Friday as well, doing battle with Bellarmine University (11-8, 2-3), the No. 4 seed from the East. Also playing will be the East’s No. 2 seed, Lewis University (7-7, 4-1), facing the West’s third seed University of Missouri-St. Louis (12-4, 4-2).
UIndy has claimed a league-best 10 women's tennis titles with two in the last four years. Defending Champion Drury is close behind with eight after winning last year 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 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, the top-seeded and 20th-ranked Greyhounds (12-5, 5-0), will battle Rockhurst (11-11, 3-3), the No. 4 seed in the West. The West's No. 2 seed Missouri-St. Louis (13-5, 5-1) faces East No. 3 University of Illinois Springfield (13-4, 3-2). The winners will face one another Saturday afternoon.
In the bottom half of the bracket, the top-seeded and 26th-ranked Panthers (13-4, 6-0) face the East's No. 4 seed, Southern Indiana (10-12, 2-3) on Friday. The winner of that contest will meet the victor between the East's No. 2 seed Lewis (9-4, 4-1), and Maryville (9-7, 4-2), which is the No. 3 seed in the West.
UIndy holds the most men's crowns with 10, boasting the title of three-time defending champs. 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 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 1 p.m.
Daily admission is free of charge.
For complete tournament details and coverage information, visit the championship central at
GLVCsports.com/2019tennis.