EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The No. 39 University of Southern Indiana men's tennis team has earned a bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Screaming Eagles will compete as the four-seed at the Midwest Regional hosted by the University of Indianapolis in Greenwood, Indiana. The opening round opponent for USI will be the five-seed, No. 41 Drury University. The match will start at 1 p.m.
USI in 2015-16
Despite dropping two region matches in February, USI went on to win 13 of their final fifteen matches including six sweeps to end the regular season. The Eagles managed a 10-match win streak that was snapped in the final week of the regular season. The streak is the team's longest since the 2012-13 season when USI won 12 consecutive matches, winning the conference tournament and making an appearance at the national championships.
GLVC Tournament Runner-Ups
The Eagles advanced past Rockhurst University in the opening round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tennis Tournament for the third-consecutive year. After beating No. 41 Drury University in the semifinal, USI was defeated by No. 21, the University of Indianapolis, 5-2. It was the team's first appearance in the conference championship match since winning the title in 2013.
Senior Leaders
While recovering from wrist surgery, senior
Jack Joyce (Bournemouth, England) was able to cement his spot in the Eagles' lineup by midseason. Joyce finished the year with a 20-5 singles record.
Joel Stern (Mjoelby, Sweden) anchored the bottom half of the lineup with a record of 15-5. The two partnered together a majority of the year in doubles competition, amassing a 12-3 record together, highlighted by an 11-match win streak during the year.
Top Newcomers
Junior
Paul Forichon (Nimes, France) and freshman
James Hardiman (Blackwell Bristol, United Kingdom) have earned the second and third best singles records. Forichon is 19-3 on the season with a current 10-match winning streak, while Hardiman is 16-4. Hardiman leads the team with a 19-3 doubles record, and Forichon is tied for second with an 18-9 record.
USI Record Book
A number of Eagles have worked their way up the USI record books. Joyce has moved into fourth all time for career singles wins with 77. Joyce also moved past assistant coach
Ben Boesing for the fourth most doubles wins in a career with 80. The two totals move Joyce into third place all-time for the most combined wins. The doubles team of junior
Aaron Barris (Marietta, Georgia) and Hardiman sit in second all-time with their current 16-match win streak. The streak is one short of tying the all-time record at USI.
Drury in 2015-16
Drury has amassed a 12-8 record this season. The team has is 7-4 away from Springfield, Missouri including 1-1 record in neutral site matches. Maximilian Hepp was awarded the GLVC Player of the Year while Kay Bartmann was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year prior to the GLVC Tournament. The Panthers fell in the semifinal round of the GLVC Championship last week.
Last USI/Drury Match
The Eagles defeated Drury at last week's GLVC tournament with a 5-2 win. USI took two of three doubles matches, while also winning three of the first four singles events. The Panthers had defeated USI the prior two seasons in the conference tournament semifinal round.
