When head coach Bob Modesto talks about the Valparaiso University tennis program, he can’t help but display a wide smile on his face.

And the Beacons are hoping to give their head coach even more reason to smile this weekend, as they attempt to add another accomplishment to the program’s long list of feats. Valpo will head to Des Moines, Iowa to face off with Stony Brook at 9 a.m. on Friday in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. If the fourth-seeded Beacons can defeat the fifth-seeded Seawolves, it would mark the program’s first league tournament victory since 2006.

Valpo has already achieved its highest win total, both overall and in MVC play, since 2007.

“This season has been a great journey; it has been outstanding,” Modesto said. “The best part is that we go into every match knowing that we can compete, and that’s a great place to be. We don’t go into any matches where we’re defeated before the match begins. When we get ready for a match, everybody across the board says, ‘We can do this. We’re in it.’ We feel like we have an opportunity to win every time we step on the court, and that’s a great feeling. That’s where you want to be.”

The program’s longest-tenured player has been a cornerstone of the team’s turnaround in recent seasons. When Claire Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy) arrived on campus as a freshman, Valpo had won 20 total team matches over the previous 10 seasons combined. Now, the program owns 29 team wins in her five-year tenure. A career that has featured a program-record 71 doubles wins and 57 singles victories (fifth in program history) was highlighted by the MVC Flight 1 Doubles title this past fall. In addition, Claire has garnered 12 career MVC weekly awards and owns 19 doubles wins this year, tied for the fourth most in a single season in program history. When her career comes to an end, the fifth-year senior will go down in Valpo lore as one of the most accomplished players in program history, but first she hopes to lead her team to further achievements this weekend in Des Moines. 

Claire is joined in the senior class by Isabella Schoolcraft (Bargersville, Ind. / Center Grove), and the two were recognized prior to a 7-0 win vs. UNI in the April 3 home finale.

“Claire and Bella have been outstanding,” Modesto said. “They are the epitome of the program. They are great people, great tennis players and great student-athletes. They are really the definition of Valparaiso University. I couldn’t be happier with them.”

Another reason for happiness is the play of Claire’s younger sister, junior Olivia Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy). The Fall 2021 MVC Flight 2 Singles Champion moved up to No. 1 singles this spring and finished with a 4-1 record in league play, including a straight-set win over reigning MVC Player of the Year Tijana Zlatanovic of Illinois State. Olivia, who ranks in the top 10 in program history for career wins in both singles (45, t-ninth) and doubles (44, eighth), has won 21 singles matches this season, the third most in program history in a single year. The Czerwonka sisters have 19 doubles wins this year, tied for the fourth most in program lore, and won the MVC Flight 1 Doubles title during the fall.

“It all starts with Olivia,” Modesto said. “You start at the top of the lineup. She leads by example and also leads by performance and results. When you have a player like Olivia who can come in and beat a player who was undefeated, that lets the team know that everybody can do that. She deserves to have those types of performances and results.”

Mia Bertino (Lockport, Ill. / Joliet Catholic) posted a 4-1 record in MVC play, while Amanda Tabanera (Valencia, Calif. / Valencia) owns 17 wins on the season, tied for the 10^th-most in a single season in program history. Allison McConnell (Westland, Mich. / Churchill) and Demi Jhaveri (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) have also contributed to the program’s rise.

“There’s a lot of camaraderie on the team,” Modesto said. “That makes a big difference. We often emphasize that we need to make sure that we’re cheering for each other and everybody is rooting for everybody else. When I think of any player at any position on our team, it puts a smile on my face. I feel a tremendous amount of pride with all of our players.”

The team’s success this season extends beyond the tennis courts, as the group won the Valpo Athletics Team Academic Award, which is bestowed upon the Valpo program with the highest team grade point average. The team won a match against Oakland before heading straight to the academic awards banquet to receive the honor. Every player on the roster is a member of the academic honor roll.

“That was a great day,” Modesto said. “A day like that lets us know that we’re doing the right things on and off the courts. We put a lot of emphasis on grades, and it really shows. On the van rides, everybody is doing work and studying on the way there. On the way back from matches, it’s a little more fun, but on the way there everyone has a laptop out for classwork.”

The winner of Friday’s match between Valpo and Stony Brook will take on top-seeded Drake on Saturday at 10 a.m.  in the semifinal round. The conference championship match will begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Click here to view a video interview with head coach Bob Modesto to preview the MVC Tournament.