The final WAC match of the weekend had everything; comebacks, intensity, and drama-filled points. UMKC men’s tennis claimed a share of its fifth conference regular season title under head coach Kendell Hale, winning a down-to-the wire 4-3 battle against previously undefeated Grand Canyon on Sunday afternoon.
The day started with a rainy morning, forcing the match indoors to the Carriage Club, and with it, only three courts. The teams decided to play singles first to see if it would produce a winner.
UMKC jumped out to the early lead in the dual, taking a straight set win at No. 1 from Airam Castellano, who made his claim for WAC Player of the Year. He won 6-1, 6-3, and finished 5-0 at the No. 1 position in WAC play, while extending his school record single season win total to 23. It was also his ninth straight win overall.
Uldis Gaismins continued the Roos run, taking a victory at No. 3 in straight sets to make it 2-0. He also won his ninth straight overall in the win. Senior Andrey Smirnov gave the Roos a commanding 3-0 lead with a huge victory in a third set tiebreak at No. 2. He won the first set, dropped the second set, and forced a tiebreak in the final set. He jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the tiebreak, but Felix Schueller fought back, scoring the next three points to make it match point. Smirnov dug deep though, and battled back to score the next three points to claim the victory, 8-6.
The UMKC victory didn’t deflate the Lopes though, as they showed some fight of their own at Nos. 4 and 5. UMKC won the first set in both, but GCU battled to force third sets in both, and eventually claimed wins in each one. All that was left to force the decisive doubles point was a win at No. 6, and Grand Canyon did just that. Considered one of the deepest lineups in the WAC, the Lopes delivered with three straight points at Nos. 4-6 to tie it at 3-3.
The two teams entered the weekend as the top two doubles teams in the WAC, and all three matches were down to the wire. Early on, the Lopes looked like they would complete the comeback, getting up by 5-3 scores at both No. 2 and No. 3. UMKC had different ideas though, battling back to tie both matches at 5-5 with huge service breaks. All three matches were tied 5-5 at one point, but it was the Roos who won the big points, taking a 6-5 lead in all three.
At No. 1, Castellano and Mike Psarros scored a huge service break to take that 6-5 lead, and served for the match victory to finish first and put the Roos on the brink of victory. Meanwhile, UMKC took a 6-5 lead at No. 2 and the match at No. 3 was forced into a tiebreak. Less than a minute after the win at No. 1, Gaismins and Amaury Navette put the Roos to a victory at No. 2 with a 7-5 win, and as the Roos were storming the court, the Roos claimed the win at No. 3 from Smirnov and Vinh Pham with a 7-2 tiebreak, sending UMKC into a raucous victory celebration.
It was the first regular season title since 2013 for the Roos, and the first as members of the WAC. The standings finished in a three-way tie for the crown with GCU, NM State and UMKC.
The Roos will hit the road on Tuesday for a non-conference match against Saint Louis.
UMKC 4, Grand Canyon 3
4/10/2016 at Kansas City, Mo. (Carriage Club)
Singles competition
1. Airam Castellano (UMKC) def. Mitch Maroscher (GCU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Andrey Smirnov (UMKC) def. Felix Schueller (GCU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
3. Uldis Gaismins (UMKC) def. Alexander Roggenkamp (GCU) 7-5, 6-1
4. Mathieu Rojaonah (GCU) def. Mike Psarros (UMKC) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Meidy Chazeau (GCU) def. Vinh Pham (UMKC) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Justin Cvitanovic (GCU) def. Amaury Navette (UMKC) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Airam Castellano/Mike Psarros (UMKC) def. Alexander Roggenkamp/Felix Schueller (GCU) 7-5
2. Uldis Gaismins/Amaury Navette (UMKC) def. Mitch Maroscher/Meidy Chazeau (GCU) 7-5
3. Andrey Smirnov/Vinh Pham (UMKC) def. Adrian Legarreta/Gregoire Balenci (GCU) 7-6 (7-2)
Match Notes
Grand Canyon 13-8, 4-1 WAC
UMKC 13-7, 4-1 WAC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,3,2,4,5,6)
WAC Match
Singles played first
T-6:14 A-25
Rob McCutcheon
Sports Information Director
UMKC Athletics (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
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816-284-9251 (cell)
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