FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Up 7-6 in the deciding match of doubles play, the IUPUI men's tennis team could not close out the win, and top-seeded Western Illinois capitalized to defeat the Jaguars, 4-0, in the semifinals of The Summit League Men's Tennis Tournament at the Dr. Rudy and Rhonda Kachmann Tennis Center.

After Gabriel Garcia and Gregory Sosa won 8-5 in their No. 1 doubles match, Blake Powers and Jesus Diaz fell, 4-8, at No. 3, leaving the decisive match to #E.J. Dechow and Jorge Yunes#.  Leading 7-6 and with a match point, the duo was broken by WIU to move into a 7-7 tie, where the Leathernecks took the next two games to win the doubles point.

With momentum squarely on their side, Western Illinois took the first three completed singles matches to advance to their third straight conference final.  Garcia, in his final match with the Jaguars, fell 2-6, 0-6 at No. 1, to finish his career with a 32-22 record, the fourth-best in school history.

Diaz finished a strong freshman campaign with a 0-6, 1-6 defeat, while Powers fell, 3-6, 0-6.

The Jaguars finish the year with an overall record of 5-16, but qualified for their second consecutive conference tournament following a one-year absence.   

No. 1 Western Illinois 4, No. 4 IUPUI 0

April 25, 2008 | Fort Wayne, Ind. | Dr. Rudy and Rhonda Kachmann Tennis Center

 

Singles

No. 1 – Zach Frisch (WIU) def. Gabriel Garcia (IUPUI) 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 – Martin Bostrom (WIU) led Gregory Sosa (IUPUI) 6-2, 2-3 (DNF)
No. 3 – Neil Lesinski (WIU) def. Jesus Diaz (IUPUI) 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 – Francisco Ortiz (WIU) led #E.J. Dechow# (IUPUI) 6-3, 2-1
No. 5 – Sean Ragee-Nelson (WIU) led Jorge Yunes (IUPUI) 6-3, 3-4
No. 6 – Andy Jones (WIU) def. Blake Powers (IUPUI) 6-3, 6-0

 

Doubles

No. 1 – Garcia/Sosa (IUPUI) def. Frisch/Lesinski (WIU) 8-5
No. 2 – Bostrom/Ragee-Nelson (WIU) def. Dechow/Yunes (IUPUI) 9-7
No. 3 – Michael Tiu/Michael Schild (WIU) def. Powers/Diaz (IUPUI) 8-4