OWENSBORO, KY: The Walsh Men's Tennis team had quite the few days in Owensboro, Kentucky at the Great Midwest Conference Championships. The Cavaliers were seeded third when the tournament started, facing Ashland in the quarterfinals. The Maroon and Gold came out swinging, dominating the Eagles, winning 4-0. With the win, the team would move on to the semifinals vs Hillsdale. In the regular season, the Cavs fell to the Chargers, 6-1. The storyline would be different this time. Dawson Drummond won the number five singles match to clinch a spot in the championship match. The conference championship would be the Walsh Cavaliers and the Tiffin Dragons. The Cavs knew they had a tough task ahead of them as Tiffin was the number one seed and also ranked fifth in the Midwest region. Blas Ruiz and Luis Hernandez won their doubles match and Ruiz would go on to be the only singles winner in the championship contest. After a great couple days of tennis, the Cavaliers would fall to Tiffin, 4-1.
The Maroon and Gold had a trio of All-Conference award winners, including G-MAC Freshman of the Year. Philip Carstensen, freshman from Vaerlose, Denmark, was the Great Midwest Freshman of the Year. He also was named First Team All-Conference. Earning Second Team honors were Blas Ruiz and Luis Hernandez.
The Cavaliers finished their season as the G-MAC Runner Up, with a final record of 12-10.
FOR THE CAVS VS ASHLAND
- Doubles teams of Philip Carstensen/Ben Hoffmann (6-4) and Luis Hernandez/Blas Ruiz (6-2) would get the match started strong for the Cavs.
- Blas Ruiz (6-1,6-2), Dawson Drummond (6-2, 6-0), and Alex Medina (6-0,6-0) would secure the victory.
FOR THE CAVS VS HILLSDALE
- Hernandez and Ruiz would be the only victorious doubles pair, winning 7-5.
- Hernandez (6-2, 6-2) and Ruiz (6-3, 6-2) would continue to pace the Cavs, winning their respective singles matches.
- Ethan Milgan won at six singles, 6-0, 7-5.
- In the deciding match, that lasted almost two hours, grad student, Dawson Drummond, would clinch the win, 7-6, 6-4. This win secured the Cavs a spot in the finals
FOR THE CAVS VS TIFFIN
- Ruiz and Hernandez continued their impressive play, winning at three doubles, 6-2.
- Blas Ruiz also won his singles match, 6-1, 6-2.
