DePaul men’s tennis team crowned Big East champions for first time
CHICAGO (BVM) — After a year off, the DePaul University men’s tennis team finally finished some unfinished business and won the Big East .
The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly canceled all 2020 spring sports, including the Blue Demons’ men’s tennis season. Their season ended with a record of 8-9. But on April 26 in Cayce, S.C., the Blue Demons earned redemption. They defeated the St John’s Red Storm and clinched the 2021 Big East Championship.
In response to the cancellation of spring sports, the NCAA granted all seniors an extra year of eligibility. Not only did the four seniors want to return, but they wanted to fulfill Coach Matt Brothers’ hopes after his three previous losses in the Big East Championship.
Prior to this year, Brothers had appeared in the 2009, 2014, and 2018 Big East championship matches but was unable to win any of them. Making his fourth appearance, Brothers nearly saw a fourth consecutive championship slip through his fingers.
With the season on the line, the Blue Demons were tied with the Red Storm at 3-3. In the seventh match, Blue Demons senior, Luuk Wassenaar, was facing off against Evan Felcher of St John’s. Each player had won a set heading into the third. During that third set, Felcher had match point four times as he inched toward victory for the Red Storm. However, Wassenaar was able to come back from that deficit and win the third set 7-5. After winning the match point, Wassenaar fell to the ground in awe as his teammates stormed around him to celebrate their historic win.
Consequently, the Blue Demons were able to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance. They drew the Fighting Illini of Illinois who were ranked No. 16 in the country. The Illini held a record of 21-2 while winning 17 straight matches. The Blue Demons were not able to keep up with their in-state rivals and lost the match 4-1.
Despite the season-ending loss, the Blue Demons’ ability to regroup to make a run at the Big East Championship was no less impressive. Christopher Casati, Boris Spankaard, Fran Tonejc, and Tamas Zador all became graduate students in order to return for an extra year. They sacrificed a whole year of their lives to come back and play a game they love for a school they love. They wanted to deliver something that had never been accomplished in DePaul’s tennis history.
They delivered by bringing home a Big East championship and finally providing Coach Brothers with a title. More importantly, they will forever insert their names into the history of DePaul athletics.
