Brackets set for 2007 Horizon League Tennis Championships
April 23, 2007
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Men's Bracket
Women's Bracket
For the tenth consecutive season, the University of Illinois at Chicago women's tennis team has earned the top seed at the Horizon League Championships, while on the men's side, the Butler University Bulldogs head into the event with a perfect League mark for the sixth-straight year.
The Flames (10-7, 7-0) have not lost a match to a League opponent since falling in the title match of the 1996 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Championship, a mark of 90 consecutive wins. This year's No. 8 seed, Wright State University, will attempt to put an end to that streak as the Raiders battle UIC in the first match of the tournament. The second match of the morning features No. 2 Butler and No. 7 Youngstown State University. The Bulldogs are led by freshman Molly Casperson, 5-2 at No. 1 singles in League play, while the Penguins have had to rely on strong play from 2006 All-League selection Gina Peretti and newcomer Tanisha Welch to overcome injuries to key players late in the season.
By virtue of a 4-3 win over Cleveland State University on Saturday, the University of Detroit Mercy grabbed the No. 3 seed at this year's championship. The Titans enter the weekend having picked up three-straight League wins, while their opponent, No. 6 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, enjoys its highest position since 2004.
For the fourth-straight season, Cleveland State comes into the weekend as the No. 4 seed. The Vikings, led by senior Sarah Galon, look to snap a three-match League losing streak in its first- round match-up with No. 5 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Panthers, paced by a quartet of freshman, enter the League summit with eleven wins, tied for the most in the program's Division I history.
As a reward for yet another successful season, the Butler men will have a bye to the second round of the championship where they will face either No. 4 seed Wright State or No. 5 UW-Green Bay. The Raiders, who enter the weekend with a 2-3 mark in League play, defeated the Phoenix 5-2 on March 2.
Cleveland State clinched the No. 2 position with a 5-2 win over UIC in the final week of the regular season. The Vikings, who until now had never been seeded higher than fourth (2004 and 2006), finished the regular season with a League-high 17 wins. CSU will face the winner of No. 3 UIC and No. 6 Youngstown State.
The Flames, runners-up in last year's championship, are led by freshman Sebastian Lystad at No. 1 singles, while the Penguins relied on the duo of Tom Barth and Scott Kathary at the top two spots to pick up five team victories this season.
The 2007 Horizon League Men's & Women's Tennis Championship begins Saturday, April 28 at North Central High School in Indianapolis. Women's play begins at 9 a.m. EDT, while the men take the courts at 10 a.m. EDT. For more information, visit the tennis championships page at www.horizonleague.org.
