#5 Mens Tennis Falls In NCAA Semifinals To No. 2 For Cougars

ORLANDO, Fla. No. 5-ranked University of Indianapolis men’s tennis’ dominant regular season came to an end in the NCAA semifinals at the hands of the two-seed Columbus State Cougars (21-4), 4-2. The Hounds finished their historic season with a 23-3 record and reached their ninth straight NCAA Tournament to go along with their 12th GLVC Conference Championship.

THOROUGHLY

In a rare feat, the Cougars were able to get the jump on the Greyhounds in doubles play. A quick 6-0 win at No. 3 left it at No. 1 pair. Edgar Destouet and Tom Zeuchand a couple Matthieu Derache and Erwan Momo Andre. Destouet and Zeuch did their job, but thanks to a Cougars timeout, they got the double point.

The singles stayed tight as nails. The Hounds got off to a slow start, with the Cougars taking matches at No. 2 and No. 5 before the Hounds could respond. Louis Picaud No. 3 was on fire to keep the Hounds’ hopes alive, winning in straight sets 3-1. Thomas Mathisin the second period, the breaker kept the energy going with this own fire and sent it to a 3-2 count.

Despite the gusty tennis Nikolai Talimaa forcing a tiebreak, the Swiss senior fell in the aforementioned tiebreak 7-5, ending the match and the dogs running in the tournament.

SENIOR CLASS

The Hounds return most of their lineup next season, with the only notable departure being longtime power Talimaa, who held down several spots during his tenure as a Greyhound. He finished his senior campaign with a record of 15-5 and 17-6 in singles.

Together with Talimaa, they also graduated Jason Gerweck going 10-5 with a doubles mark his senior season. He also leaves as a 2x ITA Scholar-Athlete and 3x GLVC All-Academic team honoree.