Aggie men fall to Midwestern in NCAA tennis regional

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Midwestern State jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles action and never looked back, eliminating the 39th-ranked Cameron men's tennis team in the opening round of NCAA South Central Regional play here Friday at the Cooper Tennis Complex.

The loss ended Cameron's season with a record of 18-10. Midwestern State, 15-10 overall and ranked 40th in the latest ITA tennis rankings, advances to Saturday's regional final against sixth-ranked Drury University. The winner of that match will compete in the 16-team NCAA Division II National Championship tournament, which is scheduled for May 12-15, in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

Cameron appeared to be in position to recover from the early deficit on Friday, when freshman Ivor Hitrec won at the No. 1 singles position to square the team score at 2-2. But Midwestern went on to claim wins at the #2, #4, #6 singles positions to close out the match. Two singles matches were left unfinished.

Cameron had defeated Midwestern State in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference tournament back on April 22, using a 2-1 advantage after doubles play to take a 5-3 win over the Indians. But MSU's doubles lineup on Friday differed from the one used in the previous meeting. Brett Emerson and Rohan Williams earned MSU's only doubles point in the earlier match from the No. 2 spot, but lost on Friday to Cameron's Ivor Hitrec and Oscar Guerra in the No. 1 slot. Victor Vidal and Gene Ligeon, who suffered an 8-3 loss to Guerra and Hitrec on April 22, teamed with different partners on Friday and each helped collect victories for the Indians. Vidal won at No. 3 with Jared King, while Ligeon collected the win in the No. 2 match with teammate David Barrett.

Cameron and Midwestern State met in the opening round of the 2003 regional tournament in Abilene, Texas, as well. MSU won that match by a score of 5-2. Friday marked the 10th consecutive regional tournament appearance for the Cameron men under head coach James Helvey. The Aggies have advanced to the regional title match four times during that period, including the most recent appearance in 2001.


2004 NCAA-II Men’s National Championships - First Round
Cooper Tennis Complex (Springfield, Mo.)

Midwestern State    5
Cameron    2

Doubles
1. Ivor Hitrec/Oscar Guerra, Cameron, def. Brett Emerson/Rohan Williams, 8-4
2. Gene Ligeon/David Barrett, Midwestern State, def. Alex Furlan/Gustavo Blanco, 8-4
3. Victor Vidal/Jared King, Midwestern State, def. Marco Valdez/Nathan McCulloch, 8-5

Singles
1. Hitrec, Cameron, def. Ligeon, 6-1, 6-3
2. Emerson, Midwestern State, def. Furlan, 6-2, 6-3
3. Williams, Midwestern State, vs. Guerra, Cameron, match stopped
4. Vidal, Midwestern State, def. Blanco, 6-3, 6-4
5. Michael Richards, Midwestern State, vs. Jorge Zabrodiec, Cameron, match stopped
6. King, Midwestern State, def. Valdez, 6-3, 6-1