Men's Tennis Savoring Summer Success
Monday, July 6, 2015
Men's Tennis Savoring Summer Success

The Valpo men's tennis team provided plenty of fireworks at the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association)'s latest Summer Circuit held at Purdue University.  

Junior Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) took home the singles title in the 71-participant field that concluded with Monday's championship. Schorsch and fellow classmate Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) also hoisted the first-place trophy in the 34-team doubles tournament. Meanwhile, senior Lucas Waak (Manitowoc, Wis./Roncalli) won the consolation doubles title alongside Carthage College's Christopher Conley. 

Schorsch, the top-seeded singles player, did not drop a set in any of his six victories. He expelled Western Michigan's Andrew Cahn 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals in a triumph that forced a semifinal match against Emhardt, the fourth seed. Schorsch got the best of his doubles partner on the singles court, advancing to the finals by means of a 6-4, 6-1 win. There, Schorsch rattled off a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Dartmouth's Maximillian Fliegner, the #2 seed.

Emhardt made his way into the final four of singles action with a 6-3, 6-4 win over #16 Ari Gerstein of Butler in the Round of 16 and a 6-4, 6-2 dispatching of DePauw's Daniel Rodefeld in the quarterfinals.    

Waak advanced to the Round of 16 in the singles portion of the tourney by virtue of straight-set wins over Lucas Jessen (St. Joseph's College) and Cameron Metzger (Rose-Hulman), respectively. His bid for a quarterfinal appearance fell short after a narrow 7-5, 7-5 defeat to Illinois' Pablo Landa, the tournament's No. 3 seed.

Doubles play saw Schorsch and Emhardt excel yet again as the Crusader tandem went a perfect 5-0 to record the title in the Men's Open Doubles. The pair opened play with an 8-0 shutout of IUPUI's Bradley Luetschwager and Matthew Moe. Schorsch and Emhardt made quick work of Case Western's Phillip Gruber/Andrew Komarov in the Round of 16, registering an 8-3 triumph.

The tandem handed Eastern Illinois' Ryan Henderson/Rui Silva an 8-2 defeat in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinals showdown opposite Butler's Ari Gerstein and Alex Woldmoe. There, Schorsch/Emhardt posted another 8-2 victory to set up a date in the finals against Christopher Fletcher (George Washington) and Robert Skolik (Eastern Illinois). 

The two teams went the distance in a thrilling championship match before Schorsch and Emhardt emerged with an 8-7 (3) triumph.

Waak and Conley were awarded the eighth seed in the tournament, but fell 8-6 in their opening round tilt against Ball State's Matthew Helm/Collin Rigney. The duo responded with three consecutive 8-2 wins to advance to the finals of the consolation bracket. Waak/Conley collected an 8-3 victory over Ian Deiters (Ben Davis HS) and Elliott Thornton (The Hotchkiss School) for the consolation title.