The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team swept the singles competition with individual champions at A, B and C singles, and also won two of the three doubles brackets on the final day of the Crusader Invitational on Saturday.

How It Happened

• Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) started his Saturday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Butler’s Aviv Ben Shabat. Then, Kissell completed his undefeated weekend with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Green Bay’s Matej Kostadinov in the A Singles championship.
• The B Singles bracket also featured a Valpo champion, as Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill. / Niles North) bested Crusader teammate Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill.) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) in the final. Bacalla reached the championship with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Chicago State’s Gonzalo Martinez, while Ancona punched his ticket with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Butler’s Spencer Lang.
• Daniel Langston (Ponca City, Okla. / Ponca City) won the C Singles bracket, bettering Northwestern Ohio’s Jean-Marc Krone 6-1, 6-2 in the final after topping Rohan Wattley of Chicago State in the semifinal 6-0, 6-2.
• Franklin Brozovich (Fort Gratiot, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) recovered from a second-round loss on Friday by besting teammate Brian Pecyna (Glen, Ellyn, Ill.) in consolation play 4-6, 6-1, 10-7. Pecyna picked up a 6-1, 6-3 win over Butler’s Sam Sullivan earlier in the day.
• Kissell and Bacalla were the A Doubles champions by virtue of a 6-3 win over Butler’s Aviv Ben Shabat and Ari Gerstein in the final.
• Kyle Dunn (Fond du Lac, Wis. / Fond du Lac) enjoyed a 2-0 day in B Singles, bouncing back from a Friday defeat with back-to-back straight set wins against Iowa’s Tony Leto and Green Bay’s Joshua Schramm.
• Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio / Poland) also showed resiliency after two losses on Friday by winning a consolation match against Chicago State’s Christian Gonzalez in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
• Dunn and Gardner won the A Doubles consolation title, topping Green Bay’s Miles McDowall and Matej Kostadinov 6-1 in the final match.
• Ancona and Langston rebounded from a loss earlier in the day by finishing strong with a 6-1 win over a Chicago State duo. B Doubles was the only bracket not won by Valpo.
• Pecyna and Brozovich topped Green Bay’s Ivan Radomirovic and Joshua Schramm 6-1 in the C Doubles final.

Next Up

The Crusaders will be represented at the ITA Midwest Regional in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday. Then, Valpo rounds out the fall at the Illinois State Invitational from Oct. 28-30 in Normal, Ill.