OVERLAND PARK, KS – After three days of fiery competition, the inaugural Men’s and Women’s ITA NAIA National Team Indoor Champions have been crowned from the Overland Park Racquet Club.
In what was another championship matchup between the two NAIA Men’s and Women’s tennis programs in Keiser and Georgia Gwinnett, a new champion was crowned on each side of play as Keiser upset top-seeds Georgia Gwinnett to take home both National Championships.
Beginning with the women’s championship, Keiser jumped out to an early lead in doubles play as Violet Apisah and Ksenija-Ana Vujacic won 6-4 on court one. With Georgia Gwinnett ahead on court three, the lone doubles point was coming down to court two where each team was fighting hard for every point.
After Keiser jumped out to a 4-0 lead on court two, Georgia Gwinnett was able to claw their way back into the match forcing a tiebreak that would determine the doubles point. Elyse Lavender and Vanja Vidanovic of Keiser earned two mini-breaks to go ahead 6-2 in the tiebreak before closing out the tiebreak and doubles to give the Seahawks the early advantage.
Moving to singles, the match only picked up in intensity as the teams battled it out across all six courts in pursuit of the inaugural ITA NAIA Women’s National Team Indoor Championship.
With each team earning straight-set wins on two courts, the overall score was now 3-2 in favor of Keiser with the remaining two matches headed into a third-set tiebreaker to determine the winner.
On court five, Angel Carney of Georgia Gwinnett fought back from a first-set deficit to win 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 over Vanja Vidanovic to level the overall score at 3-3 as all eyes now turned to court one.
Keiser’s Elyse Lavender looked in control in the first set, winning 6-3 over Teodora Jovic before Jovic bounced right back in the second set, winning 6-3 to force the third set.
In the third set, both players held serve through the first five games before Lavender was able to force a break and wouldn’t look back from there, winning the third set 6-2 and the overall match for Keiser to clinch the inaugural NAIA Indoor Championship.
This win snapped the Grizzlies 63-match win streak and marked Keiser’s first NAIA National Championship in program history.
In the men’s final, it was another heated affair as both teams were hungry to claim the inaugural ITA NAIA Men’s National Team Indoor Title after each team cruised through the first two rounds of play.
Beginning with doubles, Georgia Gwinnett showed why they haven’t lost a match in over seven years, winning 6-4 on court one and 6-0 on court to take the early lead in another high-stakes match against the Seahawks.
Into singles, the Grizzlies continued their momentum with quick straight-set wins on courts one and two, however, that is when the momentum would shift in favor of Keiser.
Pushing the matches to third sets on courts three, four, five, and six, the Seahawks showed a great ability to close in the biggest moments, winning 6-3 in the third set on court three, 6-2 in the third on court four, and 6-1 in the third set on courts five and six.
The win over Georgia Gwinnett marked the first time the Grizzlies had been beaten in 173 matches, on a streak that lasted over seven years. For Keiser, they leave Kansas as National Champions and winners on both the men’s and women’s sides of play.
Women’s Matches
Finals
- Keiser (2) def Georgia Gwinnett (1), 4-3
Third Place
- SCAD Savannah (5) def LSU Alexandria (3), 4-1
Fifth Place
Xavier (La.) (6) def Indiana Wesleyan (4), 4-1
Seventh Place
- Lindsey Wilson (7) def Kansas Wesleyan (8), 4-0
Men’s Matches
Finals
- Keiser (2) def Georgia Gwinnett (1), 4-3
Third Place
- Tennessee Wesleyan (4) def Northwestern Ohio (6), 4-2
Fifth Place
- Xavier (La.) (5) def Lindsey Wilson (7), 4-2
Seventh Place
- Indiana Wesleyan (3) def Kansas Wesleyan (8), 4-2
