FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The last two seasons, the IUPUI men’s tennis team has come up just short of advancing to the NCAA Tournament falling in the championship match on both occasions to UMKC. However, the Jaguars are looking for a different result this week when they begin the Summit League Championships April 26-27 at the Dr. Rudy & Rhonda Kachmann Tennis Center in Fort Wayne, Ind.

IUPUI enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed and it will take on No. 2 seed South Dakota State at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 26. The winner of the IUPUI/SDSU match will meet the winner of the match between Kansas City and Fort Wayne on Saturday, April 27, for a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Kangaroos enter the tournament as the top overall seed.

The Jags have experience in the tournament advancing to the championship match in each of the last two seasons, but the Kangaroos have emerged victorious both times. This season, head coach Brandon Currie is optimistic that if IUPUI were to make the championship match, its third appearance could be the charm.

“We are excited and thrilled to have an opportunity to compete for a conference championship again this year. We have been in this situation for the past few years and come up short, but moving forward, we are very excited about this year and our team,” Currie said. “We know there will be a lot of adversity and challenges going into the tournament, but we have faced adversity this entire year. We have a few seniors on the team and it’s their time to lead us to our ultimate goal of winning a conference title.” 

The Jags are 1-2 against the tournament field this season falling to both Kansas City and South Dakota State by identical 4-3 scores in late March in Kansas City. However, the Jaguars rebounded with a 4-2 win over Fort Wayne back on April 12 in Indianapolis.

In his rookie season with the team, Jason Jaruvang has excelled in league action this season posting an impressive 5-0 record against league opponents at the No. 1 singles spot. Jaruvang and his doubles partner, Jake Hedderig, also own a strong 4-1 record in doubles play.

“I think guys are feeling very confident both individually and as a team. We still haven't played our best tennis, and i think we have a great opportunity to that as a team this weekend,” Currie added.

For complete coverage of the 2013 Summit League Men's Tennis Championships, visit www.thesummitleague.org/championships or follow on Twitter @summitchamps.

2013 Summit League Men's Tennis Championship
All times are Eastern
Friday, April 26
9 a.m. - Men's Semifinal: (1) Kansas City vs. (4) Fort Wayne
3 p.m. - Men's Semifinal: (2) South Dakota State vs. (3) IUPUI

Saturday, April 27
10 a.m. - Men's Championship Match