MOBILE, Ala. – The 2017-18 season for Indiana Wesleyan University men’s tennis team was quite a ride but it finished on Tuesday with an 8-1 loss to No. 12-seed Arizona Christian at the NAIA National Championship. The season ends with a program record 29 wins and Crossroads League championships in the regular season and postseason tournaments.

MATCH VITALS

• NAIA National Championship First Round
• Score:  Arizona Christian def. Indiana Wesleyan, 8-1
• Records:  Indiana Wesleyan 29-12   |   Arizona Christian 19-7
• NAIA Top-25 Rank:  Indiana Wesleyan – No. 22   |   Arizona Christian – No. 10
• Tournament Seed:  Indiana Wesleyan – No. 21   |   Arizona Christian – No. 12
• Location:   Mobile Tennis Center   |   Mobile, Alabama 

DOUBLES

• No. 1:  Enzo Doulliac/Jesse Miritello (ACU) def. Eli Steiner/Grant Yager (IWU) 8-2
• No. 2:  Alberto Lapiedra/Daniel Superlano (ACU) def. Gavin White/Jacob Rankin (IWU) 8-5
• No. 3:  Marcelo Balderrama/Santiago Galeffi (ACU) def. Joel Montgomery/Austin Christner (IWU) 8-5
   

SINGLES

• No. 1:  Eli Steiner (IWU) def. Enzo Doulliac (ACU) 6-7, 6-4, 10-3
• No. 2:  Alberto Lapiedra (ACU) def. Gavin White (IWU) 6-1, 6-2
• No. 3:  Daniel Superlano (ACU) def. Joel Montgomery (IWU) 6-1, 6-2
• No. 4:  Scott Wheeler (ACU) def. Jacob Rankin (IWU) 6-3, 7-5
• No. 5:  Theodore Preiswerk (ACU) def. Austin Christner (IWU) 6-1, 6-4
• No. 6:  Luka Stanivukovic (ACU) def. Tyler Abbott (IWU) 6-0, 6-4
   

COACH SHIGLEY SAYS…

• “This was a difficult matchup for us. We were the No. 21 seed while Arizona Christian was the No. 12 seed. We knew we would have to play flawless tennis to have a chance but ACU proved to be too deep for us. It was a well played match against a great team. Eli Steiner continued his unbeaten singles record in postseason play to get another win today against a really tough opponent. This might be Eli’s best win of the season.”
   

UP NEXT FOR MEN’S TENNIS

• Indiana Wesleyan sees the 2017-18 come to a close. It was a successful season for the Wildcats with Crossroads League championships during the regular season and postseason tournament. IWU wrapped up the season as NCCAA national semifinalists and competed in the NAIA National Championship.