The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team closed out the regular season with a Senior Day victory on Saturday afternoon at the Valpo Tennis Complex, topping North Dakota 6-1. Valpo picked up wins on all six singles courts including a triumph by senior Chad Kissell (Latroba, Pa. / Greater Latrobe), who was honored prior to the match for his collegiate accomplishments.        

How It Happened

• Valpo (14-4, 4-2 Summit) found itself in an early hole as North Dakota took the doubles point. The Valpo tandem of Brian Pecyna (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / Homeschooled) and Daniel Langston (Ponca City, Okla. / Ponca City) grabbed a 6-2 win over Johnnie Carmichael and Davide Callegari at No. 2 doubles, but the Fighting Hawks (11-11, 2-4) won on the other two doubles courts to take the point.
• Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill. / Rockford Christian) closed out the regular season with a quick sweep of Nejc Sitar at No. 1 singles, the first match to finish. Ancona won 6-2, 6-1.
• The next singles match to come to an end was at No. 4, where Pecyna completed his perfect day in singles and doubles by besting Jake Kuhlman 6-2, 6-4. Langston also wrapped up a 2-0 day across singles and doubles at No. 5 singles, winning 6-2, 6-4.
• Valpo clinched the team victory courtesy of Kweisi Kenyatte (Detroit, Mich. / East English Village Preparatory) at No. 2 singles. The Valpo sophomore pulled out a three-set win over Lukas Buth 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
• Gabriel Carvajal (Pembroke Pines, Fla. / Broward Virtual School [Florida Atlantic]) finished off a 6-2, 7-5 win over Alex Reinke at No. 6, leaving the lone senior as the last player competing. Kissell closed out the home portion of his career with a three-set win over Carmichael at No. 3, winning 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.

Inside the Match

• Ancona grabbed his team-leading 23^rd singles victory while nailing down his 61^st career singles win, ninth in program history.
• Kenyatte’s singles win was his 14^th straight, upping his season mark to 21-5 (16-1 in dual matches).
• Kissell hit a milestone in his final home match, earning his 75^th career singles win. He now owns sole possession of fifth in program history, bumping Garrett Gardner (2014-2018) out of the Top 5 with his win on Saturday.
• Carvajal improved to 19-10 in singles, Langston to 17-10 and Pecyna to 19-9.
• In doubles, Pecyna and Langston bettered their mark to 3-2 as a pair as Pecyna got his 14^th doubles win of the season and Langston his eighth.

Up Next

Valpo has qualified for the Summit League Tournament, an event that features four of the league’s seven programs. Valpo will open up tournament action with a league semifinal on Friday in Tulsa, Okla.