WICHITA, Kan. — After facing a brutal schedule all season, the Newman men's tennis team will get no breaks from here on out, beginning its postseason journey this weekend at the Heartland Conference Men's Tennis Championship this weekend.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
The Jets (8-12, 3-2 Heartland) have faced nine opponents currently ranked inside the top 50 in the nation this season, and will go up against at least one more this weekend at the SMU Tennis Complex in Dallas. They kick the weekend off against No. 28 St. Edward's with an 8 a.m. match Friday.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, April 29
Semifinals
No. 2 St. Edward's (9-13, 4-1 Heartland) vs. No. 3 Newman (8-12, 3-2), 8 a.m.
No. 1 St. Mary's (13-10, 5-0) vs. No. 4 Arkansas-Fort Smith (3-12, 2-3), 11 a.m.
Saturday, April 30
Final
Semifinal winners, 9 a.m.
IN THE HISTORY BOOKS
This is the ninth consecutive year the Jets have reached the conference tournament, as they are the only Newman program to qualify for the Heartland Conference tournament every year since the school moved to Division II and joined the league. The Jets are 3-8 all-time in the event, and have reached the championship match twice — both times as the No. 3 seed.
NOTES
-St. Mary's and St. Edward's made it clear they were the top two teams of the regular season, and met just last weekend to decide the top spot. The Rattlers came away with a tight 5-4 victory to complete a perfect league season and clinch the No. 1 seed.
-The Hilltoppers may have lost to the Rattlers, but they had little trouble with the rest of the conference, winning their four other matches by a combined score of 35-1.
-UAFS started its season off with a pair of victories before suffering a 13-match losing streak. The Lions bounced back at the right time though, rallying to beat fifth-place Texas-Permian Basin 5-4 last weekend to clinch the final spot in the postseason.
COVERAGE
Live scoring and results will be available at the Heartland Conference website. Follow along on Twitter @Newman_Jets and at www.newmanjets.com for complete coverage.
