Region 4 teams, student-athletes compete at NJCAA tennis championships
TYLER, TEXAS & CHATTANOOGA, TENN. - Several teams and student-athletes represented Region 4 at the NJCAA Men's & Women's Tennis Championships during the month of May. The College of DuPage men's team came away with the best finish, taking fourth in the Division III event, and even saw their top doubles tandem earn All-American accolades.
Division I Championships (Men | Women)
The men's Division I event featured Region 4 champion Prairie State College and the College of Lake County. The Pioneers finished tied for 19th with 8.0 points, while the Lancers were tied for 24th with 2.0 points. Despite an opening match loss, Andres Riveros of PSC was able to secure two wins in the consolation bracket of the Singles Flight #1. The Pioneers saw two singles players reach the Round of 16 with victories in their first matches as Tendai Chihowa rallied for a three-set win in Flight #3 and Henry Torres won a tight match 7-5, 6-4 to advance. In doubles competition, Sandro Giangregorio and Riveros teamed up in Flight #1 to claim a three-set win in the opener before falling in the Round of 16. Lake County's lone victory came in Flight #2 with Pablo Galan and Seth Lampkin winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in their opening match.
On the women's side of Division I, Moraine Valley Community College, who won the Region 4 crown in the fall, secured 3.0 points to place 25th, followed by Elgin Community College tied for 26th with 1.0 point and McHenry County College one of three teams without a point. In the Singles Flight #1 Consolation bracket, Breanne Schultz of MVCC topped Elaina Hibbeler from MCC by a 9-7 score, and then earned an 8-4 victory in the quarterfinals before falling in the semifinals. Moraine Valley's Gabriela Dabrowski took a three-sets (7-5, 3-6, 6-2) win in the opener to reach the second round in Flight #6. The lone win by a Region 4 doubles team came in the Flight #3 consolation bracket as Elgin's Julia Burley and Isabella Mazzoti earned an 8-3 decision in the quarterfinals.
Division III Championships (Men | Women)
At the men's Division III tournament, the College of DuPage placed fourth overall with 3.0 points. Doubles duo of Brandon Dumbell and Mohamed Lukmanji, both freshman, won their opener 6-4, 6-2 against RCSJ Gloucester before dropping their second match to earn Second Team NJCAA All-American. The Chaps picked up three other wins, with Singles Flight #2 Patrick Kozbial going 2-0 with two straight sets wins, while Dumbell rebounded from an opening round defeat to claim a consolation win in Singles Flight #1.
The College of DuPage also Natalie Nadelhoffer go 1-1 in the women's Division III tournament. A 7-5, 6-4 win in her opener was followed by a straight sets loss to close out her tournament.
Following all the matched, College of DuPage head coach Jim Bowers was presented the Herschel Stephens Coach Award.