May 17, 2013

For Immediate Release

Fort Wayne, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men’s tennis team had one of its most successful seasons in recent years. Despite a first year coach and a squad loaded with underclassmen, the Warriors won eight matches in 2012-13, the second most in program history.

Head Coach Gonzalo Vivas got his team off to a terrific start in the fall winning their first three matches, including a 5-4 victory over an always tough Taylor University program. Newcomers Fernando Gonzalez, Nicholas Tripanon, Alberto Tenias, Vinicius Silva, and Clayton Northey came in and made an immediate impact along with veteran Sriram Aranganathan.

Tech dropped its final two matches of the fall to Vivas’ alma mater Huntington University and NCAA DII Tiffin University to wrap up the first half of the year with a 3-2 mark.

Coach Vivas added another impact player before the spring season began in Joaquin Ferrando who helped lead the Warriors to back-to-back wins to begin the second half of their slate, pushing Tech’s record to 5-2 overall.

Indiana Tech entered the toughest part of the scheduled facing four consecutive NCAA DI or DII opponents followed by a receiving votes Indiana Wesleyan University team and a familiar foe in Huntington. Unfortunately, the Warriors were defeated in all six matchups, but gained valuable experience against such top-notch programs.

Tech broke back into the win column against Marian University before opening Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference action. This proved to be one of the best years in WHAC tennis history with three of the five squads ranked in the NAIA Top 25. The Warriors lost their first three league matches against No. 18 University of Northwestern Ohio, No. 13 Aquinas College, and No. 24 Davenport University. Tech rebounded though with a win over Cornerstone University to close out the regular season.

Up next was the NAIA Unaffiliated Regional Tournament where the fourth-seeded Warriors knocked off fifth-seeded Ashford University to advance to the semifinals. However, Tech was defeated by the tournament’s top-seed Aquinas to end the Warriors’ run.

Following the season, Ferrando was named to the WHAC First Team All-Conference, and Aranganathan and Gonzalez were selected to the Honorable Mention Team. Ferrando was ranked as high as #4 in the East region, and #30 nationally, while Gonzalez ranked as high as #14 in the region.

With nearly everyone returning, Coach Vivas has his Warriors going in the right direction and look to be in prime position to compete for their first WHAC championship.

For more information on Indiana Tech athletics please call the Athletic Office at 260-422-5561 ext. 2492 or visit our website at http://www.indianatech.edu/athletics

 

- Go Warrior Pride -