 The No. 39 University of Southern Indiana men’s tennis team was defeated by No. 41 Drury University, 5-4, in their opening match of the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Tournament.
The Eagles earned their first win of the contest at number three doubles. With an 8-3 win, junior Aaron Barris (Marietta, Georgia) and freshman James Hardiman (Blackwell Bristol, United Kingdom) tied the USI all-time record for consecutive doubles victories with 17. The mark ties the 22-year-old record set by Tony Bacon and Chad Higgins. The duo finishes the 2015-16 season undefeated.
Sophomore Samuel Kiladejo (London, England) and junior Paul Forichon (Nimes, France) fell just short of a victory at number-one, 9-7. The duo dropped their match to a Panther team made up of this year’s Great Lakes Valley Conference Player and Freshman of the year. At number-two, senior Jack Joyce(Bournemouth, England) and sophomore Anthony Van Rompay (Schilde, Belgium) were defeated 8-2.
Moving into singles competition, USI quickly made up the deficit winning the first three singles matches. Barris was able to sweep his opponent at six with consecutive 6-0 wins. Forichon put the Eagles ahead in the match with his 7-6, 6-3 at number-five.
Joyce was able to temporarily cushion the Eagles’ lead with his win at number-two. The senior picked up a 6-4, 6-1 win to finish the season with a 21-5 singles mark. Joyce finished his USI career with 158 combined win putting him in third place in the USI record book.
Despite the 4-2 lead, the Eagles would drop the final three matches at one, four, and three singles. USI end’s there season with a 17-6 overall record that was highlighted by a 10-match win streak during the year and an appearance in the GLVC Championship.
