On Oct. 19, DU men’s tennis made history by winning both the singles and doubles titles in the Mountain Regional tournament, held in Las Vegas, NV.
There were 128 competitors in the singles category, including Pioneer junior Henry Craig. Craig defeated five other opponents before taking the regional singles win over University of New Mexico’s Sam Iftikhar. This is not the first time Craig has been the regional singles champion.
“I was the defending champion because I won singles last year, too. This year I almost lost in the semi-finals and being able to pull through that and repeat was great,” Craig said.
Not only did Craig win in the singles category, he also won doubles with his partner, sophomore Alex Gasson. For doubles, there were 64 teams competing. Craig and Gasson were victorious over teams from the University of Montana and three teams from the University of New Mexico.
“We lost in doubles last year and it was a big accomplishment to win both this season,” Craig said.
Both of these victories were not only important for Gasson and Craig, but were important to DU’s entire men’s tennis team as well.
“I think it was really important for everybody,” said head coach Danny Westerman. “Henry [Craig] has the most experience and success individually and I’m not all that surprised that he won, but hopefully it gives the other guys confidence that they can win going forward.”
The next step for Craig and Gasson is the United States Tennis Association National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. Held at New York City’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, this site is also the home of the US Open Tennis Championships. Preparation for this tournament is of utmost importance, but DU’s plan is to stick to with what has been working well for the team so far.
“We’re not going to do anything that different, we’re just working very hard. They’ve done this before and they’ll be comfortable. We’re preparing like we prepare for all of our other tournaments,” said Westerman.
The Indoor Intercollegiate Championship Tournament is set to take place on Nov. 6-9.
“We just want to play the right way and play the way we’re capable of. We don’t talk about winning; we talk about playing our game. That’s what we’re about,” said Westerman.
