DePaul University Athletics
Saturday, January 15
West Point, N.Y.
8:00 A.M. CT
DePaul University
at
Army
Defending BIG EAST Champion Opens Dual Season at Army West Point
1/14/2022 12:23:00 PM | MEN'S TENNIS
Blue Demons men's tennis competes in Arthur Ashe Invitational Saturday and Sunday
CHICAGO – There's a new look to the BIG EAST defending champion Blue Demons as they open the dual-match season Saturday in the Arthur Ashe Invitational at Army West Point.
Graduate students Boris Spanjaard, Christopher Casati, Fran Tonejc and Tamas Zador had made a pact to return intact in their COVID-19 extra year of eligibility to go what no DePaul men's tennis team had ever gone before---to the mountaintop.
Sure enough, the five elder statesmen along with talented underclassmen brought the university its first BIG EAST men's tennis championship and an automatic berth in its inaugural NCAA tournament.
That foursome that carved a permanent niche in program history has moved on. The next wave of coach Matt Brothers' "Band of Brothers" is represented by five freshmen with the potential to succeed the quartet they have replaced.
The freshman class is headed by Marino Jakic who is ranked No. 124 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Midseason Top 125 after BIG EAST Player of the Year Vito Tonejc had been ranked No. 97 in the preseason national ratings.
Jakic's classmates include Jona Gitschel, Leon Huck, Matteo Iaquinto and Sven Moser. They will follow the lead of Tonejc, BIG EAST Tournament MVP Luuk Wassenaar, Tripp Tuff and emerging sophomores Lars Peder Minsaas and Phasu Sirinit.
During the fall tournament season, Iaquinto went 10-4 in singles, Tuff and Minsaas 7-4, Tonejc was 8-6, Sirinit 4-2, Moser 8-7 and Wassenaar was 4-3.
Jakic and Tonejc emerged as the top doubles team and competed in the nationally renowned ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. along with Wassenaar and Tuff.
DePaul will open up on Saturday morning against the host Black Knights and then renew acquaintances with state rival Illinois State in the afternoon. The Blue Demons defeated ISU 5-2 last season in Downstate Normal.
They will conclude the Arthur Ashe event on Sunday against a tough Florida Atlantic team that played six matches last season against nationally ranked opponents including No. 9 Florida.
Results and recaps can be accessed at depaulbluedemons.com.
Graduate students Boris Spanjaard, Christopher Casati, Fran Tonejc and Tamas Zador had made a pact to return intact in their COVID-19 extra year of eligibility to go what no DePaul men's tennis team had ever gone before---to the mountaintop.
Sure enough, the five elder statesmen along with talented underclassmen brought the university its first BIG EAST men's tennis championship and an automatic berth in its inaugural NCAA tournament.
That foursome that carved a permanent niche in program history has moved on. The next wave of coach Matt Brothers' "Band of Brothers" is represented by five freshmen with the potential to succeed the quartet they have replaced.
The freshman class is headed by Marino Jakic who is ranked No. 124 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Midseason Top 125 after BIG EAST Player of the Year Vito Tonejc had been ranked No. 97 in the preseason national ratings.
Jakic's classmates include Jona Gitschel, Leon Huck, Matteo Iaquinto and Sven Moser. They will follow the lead of Tonejc, BIG EAST Tournament MVP Luuk Wassenaar, Tripp Tuff and emerging sophomores Lars Peder Minsaas and Phasu Sirinit.
During the fall tournament season, Iaquinto went 10-4 in singles, Tuff and Minsaas 7-4, Tonejc was 8-6, Sirinit 4-2, Moser 8-7 and Wassenaar was 4-3.
Jakic and Tonejc emerged as the top doubles team and competed in the nationally renowned ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. along with Wassenaar and Tuff.
DePaul will open up on Saturday morning against the host Black Knights and then renew acquaintances with state rival Illinois State in the afternoon. The Blue Demons defeated ISU 5-2 last season in Downstate Normal.
They will conclude the Arthur Ashe event on Sunday against a tough Florida Atlantic team that played six matches last season against nationally ranked opponents including No. 9 Florida.
Results and recaps can be accessed at depaulbluedemons.com.
Players Mentioned
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