The St. Edward's men's tennis team started off the Heartland Conference Tournament winning its semifinal match Friday against Newman, 6-0 at the South Austin Tennis Courts. Saturday afternoon the Hilltoppers returned to South Austin to square off with rival St. Mary's in the finals where St. Edward's would eventually win, 5-0. The Hilltoppers dominated the field by not dropping a singles match the entire tournament.
In its semifinal match, St. Edward's cruised through the doubles matches winning each one easily, with the closest match coming at No. 1 doubles. St. Edward's teammates Ned Boone (London, England/LSU) and Eduardo Bencke (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Colegio Anchieta) defeated Igor Ozegovic and Kevin Klein, 8-3. Sophomore James Rogers (Bahagowan, Australia/Mackay Christian College) and senior Ryan Wiggins (Frisco, Texas/Old Dominion) won their match at No.2 doubles over Chris Copenhaver and Evgeniy Kim, 8-2, to gain a point for St. Edward's. Then in dominating fashion Jonathan Stockdale (Austin Texas/ Lake Travis High School) and Adrian Garza (Austin, Texas/AESA Academy) defeated Jared Ferris and Jeff Wherritt, 8-0.
With a 3-0 lead, the Hilltoppers gained victories at No. 2, No. 3, No. 6 singles to complete a 6-0 victory over Newman. At No. 2 singles Bencke defeated Copenhaver, 6-1, 6-0. Playing at No. 3 was James Rogers, who captured another point for the Hilltoppers by defeating Kim, 6-3, 6-2. To finish it off, Garza defeated Wherritt from Newman, 6-0, 6-0.
Heading into the conference final with momentum on their side, the Hilltoppers proved that they could not be stopped. St. Edward's would sweep rival St. Mary's, 5-0 in route to their third consecutive Heartland Conference Crown. Again, the Hilltoppers would secure all three doubles points. At No. 2 doubles Rogers and Wiggins defeated Nestor Moreno and Mateo Martinez of St. Mary's, 8-3. Boone and Bencke played at No. 1 doubles and defeated Marcin Marczewski and Andrej Klipa, 8-5. Lastly at No. 3 doubles Stockdale and Garza handled Jake Williams and Carlos Olea, 8-1.
The Hilltoppers would gain two more points from Otavio Perim (Austin, Texas/Marquette) and Wiggins at No. 4 and No. 5 respectively. Perim defeated Nestor Moreno of St. Mary's, 6-2, 6-1. Lastly, Wiggins gained a victory over Carlos Olea, 6-1, 6-3, to secure the championship.
Coach Sterns was very happy after the match saying, “It was very good to beat a good St. Mary's team and a worthy opponent in such a dominating fashion.” Also, he said, “He could tell that the boys were ready and focused on winning a conference tournament.” Then when asked how he would prepare for the regional tournament he said “ We will focus on getting all our guys healthy, and it looks like we will have everyone rested and ready to play. With a good week of practice, the team will be ready for regional competition and to make another run to the NCAA Sweet 16.”