For the second year in a row, Trinity men’s tennis dominated the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Southwest Regional Championship, winning both singles and doubles titles. The tournament was hosted in San Antonio, and the Tigers knocked out all of the other competition. They were the last school standing on day three of the tournament.
In the ITA Championships last year, sophomore Ryan Warren was the singles champion, with junior Kishan Kersten and sophomore Rocco Mendez crowned as doubles champions. This year, Kersten won the singles title, while junior Ethan Flores and sophomore Roshin Kamath took home the doubles championships.
After The Tigers’ wins this weekend, the singles and doubles champions will advance to the ITA Cup, a national competition that features the best players from every Division III region. The Tigers will send the All-American doubles championship team, Flores and Kamath, in addition to singles champion Kersten, who was awarded ITA All-American singles honors.
Oct. 2: Day One
Seven Trinity singles players out of a possible ten, alongside four doubles teams won their first rounds of play. No. 1 seed, junior Jared Perry won both matches on day one, sweeping Concordia University 6-0, 6-0 and beating Southwestern University 6-4, 6-3. Flores talked about the advantages to being able to play this tournament on Trinity’s courts.
“It’s always a great experience being able to play at home. We have great facilities here at Trinity and were used to pressing on the same court,” Flores said. “Having your friends behind you, having your family behind you, it helps a lot. It helps you be able to perform and really focus.”
Oct. 3: Day Two
Trinity athletes made up a majority of the players left in the singles and doubles tournament. Kamath and Flores took down the number-one-seeded East Texas Baptist University doubles team 8-7, winning a 9-7 tiebreaker. Comparing playing singles versus doubles, Kamath and Flores both said they enjoyed playing doubles matches more than singles.
“I think what [Flores] does very well is he gives great energy non-stop. We could be down like crazy in the first set but he’ll just non-stop keep feeding off energy, and I think that’s what I need sometimes especially in doubles,” Kamath said. “He kinda fills the gaps of my game that I don’t perform so strongly in, and I think I do the same with him as well so we compliment each other very well.”
Oct. 4: Day Three
Day three of competition solidified Trinity as the only team left standing in the Tournament, as Perry defeated the No. 4 seed Nathan Qi from Southwestern in straight sets 6-3, 7-5. Warren eliminated the last standing Concordia player, Steven Scholz, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
The semifinal round was an all-Trinity matchup, as Kamath and Flores played Conor Kaczmarczyk and Aashish Dhanani for a spot in the championship. Kamath and Flores won the match 8-4. Kaczmarczyk talked about the different type of competition that comes with facing off against teammates.
“We spend so much time playing, practicing with each other. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we know how to beat each other, and so it’s much more of a chess game of now. You know what your what your teammate is going to want to do,” Kaczmarczyk said.
To determine their opponent, Perry and Kersten faced Southwestern’s doubles team. A 8-7 (7-5) win secured Perry and Kersten a spot against their teammates in the championship the next morning. Flores commented on finishing off the weekend with an all Trinity final.
“I can’t remember the last time that happened for us.” Flores said. “It was a pretty big moment for the team on championship Sunday to have all [six] individuals competing wearing tigers on their chest.”
Oct. 5: Day Four, Championship Sunday
Heading into an all-Trinity singles and doubles championship round, the Tigers were going to win regardless of the outcome. Kersten, the No. 2 seed, upset his teammate Perry who held the No. 1 seed in the singles championship. Kersten won 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. In the doubles finals, Perry and Kersten played a close match with Flores and Kamath that went to a second set tiebreaker. Flores talked about what it was like to play in the finals.
“We’re both really excited to go out there and compete. It’s our first time for either one of us to have a chance to play at nationals.” Flores said.
The tournament in Georgia will feature the best players from each region in Division III tennis. All three players from the Southwest region will be represented by Trinity. Kamath commented on what going to play in the ITA Cup means to him.
“It’s such a good opportunity. I’ve seen some of the players that are playing in this tournament and they’re really the best of the best in the country. It’s not a common opportunity that people can say they’ve played in so I’m glad I get an opportunity to do that.”
This will be the last time the whole team competes until their season in the spring. The team’s newest singles and doubles All-Americans will compete in in the ITA Cup on Oct. 16-19.
*This story was updated with more in-depth coverage on Oct. 10
