Late surge nets Toms playoff spot

July 07, 2007

The 2007 Tommie men's tennis team overcame injuries and close losses and used a late-season surge to make the conference playoffs.

A young UST squad won four consecutive conference matches in April to reach the six-team MIAC playoffs. But UST lost 6-3 to third-seed Bethel in the conference tournament in St. Peter. The Tommies' 8-10 record included two 5-4 defeats, a loss to Division II Winona State, and defeats to Division III powers Gustavus, Carleton and Luther.

The men's all-conference team included two Tommies -- junior Joshua Tomashek for singles, and junior Ben Herding and Tomashek in doubles. Another solid player was Brett Casey, who won his last five singles mataches and finished 8-3 in singles. Casey also went 3-1 in doubles with Patrick Napurski.

Coach Terry Peck is closing in on his 500th coaching match for men or women -- a milestone he'll hit in 2008. His Tommies had another strong season in the classroom as they posted a 3.38 team grade-point average. Peck has coached two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in the last six years.