Crusaders Repeat as Horizon League Champions, Head Back to NCAA Tournament
All eyes were on Kyle Dunn – that much has become a norm for the Valparaiso University men’s tennis senior.
But this time the stakes were higher than ever before, with the Horizon League Championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament hanging in the balance on Sunday afternoon at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Cleveland State pushed Valpo just about as far as it could go, but in the end the No. 1 seeded Crusaders held off the No. 6 seeded Vikings, as Dunn provided the clinching blow of a 4-3 victory for the third time this season and the second straight day.
The Crusaders (23-3) built a commanding 3-0 lead in the match, but the Vikings (10-17) roared from behind with three-set wins at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 to make it 3-3. Dunn had taken the first set from Malm 6-2, but the drama continued to heighten as Malm grabbed the second set on a tiebreak 7-6 (7-2).
Just when it seemed it couldn’t get any tighter, Dunn and Malm went to a tiebreak in the third set, with Dunn eventually escaping with the 7-6 (7-4) win that allowed Crusader nation to gasp a collective sigh of relief as the team mobbed Dunn in celebration.
“It was a big relief,” Dunn said. “It was extremely satisfying after all the hard work we put in this year. It’s thrilling to do it with 4-3 wins. It makes it even sweeter when you have to fight and claw for it.”
Dunn held a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak, but then Malm rallied to make it 5-4. Dunn won two points on Malm’s serve to win it.
“I didn’t feel a ton of nerves or pressure on me,” Dunn said. “I wanted to win it for our team and our guys. I was confident in myself that I would break through. The opportunity to be the one to clinch the match and send us to the NCAA Tournament is something I really cherish. It’s pretty surreal.”
The Crusaders were pushed to the brink in both matches at this weekend’s Horizon League Tournament, but when it mattered most the favored veteran bunch came through. Valpo marches on, all set to appear in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. In addition, the Sunday win advances the Crusaders to a plateau never before reached by a Valpo team, as they establish a new program record with their 23rd win of the year.
For the second straight day, a tight match at No. 1 doubles went unfinished thanks to the strong play of the Crusaders at the other doubles positions. Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) and Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) dispatched Colton Buffington and Kevin Goth 6-2 at No. 2, then Dunn and Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio / Poland) sealed the doubles point with a 6-2 win over Nico Mostardi and Andre Mick at No. 3.
Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg) and Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill. / Niles North) trailed the No. 1 doubles match 5-4 to Mirko Radosevic and Benjamin Slade before play was halted.
Shortly after singles play had commenced, the Crusaders had already doubled the lead in the match to 2-0 as Schorsch did his thing at No. 1 singles, downing Mostardi 6-1, 6-3. With each passing victory, Schorsch adds to his ever-growing Valpo legacy that will place him among the most accomplished student-athletes to ever compete for the Crusaders.
The third victory came at No. 2 singles, as Kissell bounced back from a Saturday defeat in a big way, defeating Buffington in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1. Kissell picked up the 21st win of his sophomore campaign.
At that time the Crusaders led the match 3-0 and had won the first set on two of the remaining four courts. At No. 6 singles Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill. / Rockford Christian) fell 6-4, 2-6, 1-6 to Goth, and shortly thereafter Bacalla’s loss to Radosevic at No. 4 went final – 2-6, 6-4, 2-6.
Emhardt forced a third set against Slade after falling 6-2 in the first by winning the second 7-5. But Slade edged Emhardt 6-4 in the third, leveling the match at the three and setting up Dunn’s heroics.
“The whole tournament was obviously a battle for us,” Valpo head coach Jim Daugherty said. “I really give credit to Youngstown State and Cleveland State for playing as hard and as well as they played. They were different teams from what we saw during the season. I am really proud that our guys had the grit to raise their game up when they really needed to, especially Kyle Dunn in both matches. I don’t know how much on person can take. Everyone probably dreams of being in that situation, but I don’t know if you want that to happen over and over. That can be grueling, so I’m really proud of Kyle.”
Now, the Crusaders await their NCAA Tournament destination and opponent. The NCAA Tennis Selection Show will take place on Tuesday at 4 p.m. CT. A live video feed of the selection show will be available.
