SIUE tennis competes in GLVC tournament

Amy Grant
Sports Stringer

The men's tennis team hopes for a different result as it faces the University of Missouri-St. Louis for the second time this season in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.

The Cougars finished the season with a of 4-5 record in the GLVC, which ranks them in sixth place opposing thirdplace UMSL.

SIUE faced the Rivermen earlier this month in a defeat. Chris Welkener gained SIUE's only point by narrowly defeating Eric Schrumpf 6-3, 4-6 and 6-4.

UMSL was not a team to be taken lightly this season.

The team worked its way into the No. 3 spot in the conference with a record of 7-2 and an overall record of 11-4.

Minh Phan claims the title of the Rivermen's best singles player. He finished the regular season with a 15-1 record this season.

Josh Heape remained close behind Phan with a 14-5 record.

UMSL is coming off two losses at the end of the season to the University of Indianapolis and Vincennes University.

Looking beyond the Cougars' matchup, the University of Southern Indiana is arguably the favorite to repeat as the champions.

USI has won the GLVC championship the past two years.

The Eagles placed second in the conference this season with an 8-1 record behind Indianapolis.

Southern Indiana finished with a record of 19-6 overall and won its last three matches, outscoring opponents 24-1.

Weston Phillips led the team with a singles record of 26-4 while Chris Crawford remained close behind finishing 24-6. Both players are undefeated in the conference.

Jeremy Richie paired up with Crawford in doubles matches to earn a 22-9 record.

The one team that handed the Eagles defeat this season was University of Indianapolis.

The Greyhounds ended Southern Indiana's 34-match conference winning streak with a 5-4 win in March and took sole possession of first place in the GLVC with a record of 8-0.

Indianapolis is slated to face St. Joseph's College in a match of the best against the worst. St. Joseph's has a record of 1-7 in the conference and 1-10 overall.

The Greyhounds are also ranked 18th in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Midwest Region rankings this year.

SIUE will look to Welkener and David Mims to lead the way in the championships.

Welkener finished the season with a 6-2 conference record while Mims finished 5-4.

The Cougars will face UMSL in the first round Friday in Indianapolis, Ind.