Horizon League Men's & Women's Tennis Championships set for April 22-23

April 19, 2006

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Women's Bracket
Men's Bracket


The 2006 Horizon League Men's and Women's Tennis Championships will be held this Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23, at North Central High School in Indianapolis.  On the men's side, Butler looks to defend its 2005 title, while the UIC women hope to add another crown to their impressive list of nine consecutive championships.

Championship Notes

Butler Bulldogs

The Bulldog men closed the 2006 regular season with a 6-1 win over Wright State on Saturday, giving Butler a perfect 5-0 League record. The Bulldogs have won four consecutive men's tennis titles.

The Butler women enter this year's tournament in a familiar spot. A 5-2 win over Wright State on Saturday gave the Bulldogs a 5-2 League record and number three seed in the championship for the second-straight season.

Cleveland State Vikings

The women's 4-0 victory over UW-Green Bay on April 8 marked the Vikings' 15th win of the season, making them the winningest women's tennis team in school history. At 16-10, the women have two more wins then the 2004-05 team, which went 14-12.

At 10-12 on the season, the CSU men's tennis program is now in its third-straight season with 10+ wins. The Vikings went 13-11 in 2003-04 and 10-12 in 2004-05 under coach Etzkin.

Detroit Titans

Freshman Annie Moore scored the only point in a 6-1 team loss to Youngstown State in the Titan's season final. The win improved her singles record to 24-11, setting a new single season school record for freshman. Moore earned Horizon League Athlete of the Week honors on Feb. 29, making her one of three Detroit freshman to receive the honor this season.  Kelly Davis (Mar. 13) and Aneta Maricevic (April 17) were also recognized.

UIC Flames

Senior leadership is the name of the game for UIC's women as they prepare to defend their 2005 Horizon League title. The Flames boast four seniors on a seven-person roster, including Iris Jaklin, Melanie Humphrey, Molly Smith and Corey Steven. UIC heads into this weekend's matches with a perfect 7-0 League slate.

The men's team concluded the regular season Tuesday (April 18) with a 5-2 win over Chicago State in non-conference play. The Flames have won five of their last six matches, including four of five in League play. The only loss for the team came on April 9, when the No. 2-seed Flames fell to No. 1 Butler, 5-2.

UW-Green Bay Phoenix

The third-seeded Phoenix men enter this weekend's matches looking for the team's first Horizon League tennis championship. UW-Green Bay finished fourth in last year's championship, after coming in second in each of the three previous years (2002-2004). 

UW-Milwaukee Panthers

With a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles on March 23 over Ashley Trifiletti of SUNY-New Paltz, junior Elizabeth Angel made her mark in the UWM record book, setting a new school mark with 16 singles wins this season.  Angel, along with senior Margie Van Lieshout and junior Shayna Illingworth, is one of only three upperclassmen on the Panther squad.

Wright State Raiders

Junior Lance Koetter earned his second Horizon League Athlete of the Week honor on April 17, giving him both the first and last athlete of the week awards of the season.  Koetter was one of only two men's athletes to earn the award multiple times this year, joining Butler's Brandon Gill.

With 18 wins apiece, juniors Tiffani Foster and Audra Beckett boast more wins than nearly all others this season. Only Cleveland State's Jenn Myers (21) and Detroit's Annie Moore (24) have more individual victories.

Youngstown State Penguins

Junior Gina Peretti defeated Detroit's Ashley Cummins, 6-0, 6-4 on Tuesday to extend her personal winning streak to eight-consecutive singles matches.  Peretti amassed a 13-5 record on the season, including 6-1 in League play. 

Sophomore Scott Kathary is entering the championship on a high note after notching two key singles wins in his last two matches. Kathary defeated both UW-Green Bay's Tim Prudlow and Cleveland State's Olivier Dhaine in the final weeks of the season at the No. 1 singles position.