Men's Tennis 4/29/2024 5:34:00 PM Chris Kuchta

The Tradition Continues: Pioneers Lock Down Eighth Region 4 Title in Program History

Next Stop For PSC: National Tournament

PARK FOREST, Ill. --- While most things in life are unpredictable, the Prairie State men's tennis team claiming the NJCAA Region 4 championship has become something that PSC fans can depend on.

Saturday afternoon was no different as the Pioneers lapped the competition en route to the program's eighth region title.

The championship is PSC's second straight.

Prairie State claimed its second straight region crown behind a 27-point effort. Lake County was the tournament's runner-up with a 15.5 point total.

The Pioneers rolled through both the entire Illinois Skyway Conference and Region 4 schedules posting 9-0 finals against every opponent, something PSC head coach Donn Gobbie was pleased to see.

"Basically, this was a perfect season for us," Gobbie said. "We did not lose a match against any conference or regional opponent during the regular season and we did not lose a match in the region tournament. I'm very proud of the guys for accomplishing the things that they did this year. It's been an outstanding season thus far and we're looking forward to competing at the national tournament in Texas and hopefully improving upon last year's finish of No. 19."

PSC's top singles player, Nick Velders, defeated Carlos Morales of Elgin (6-0, 6-0), Luke Bouvier of Oakton (6-1, 6-1)and Shingai Manyonga of Illinois Valley 6-3,6-3 to claim the championship at No. 1.

Velders, a native of the Netherlands, compiled an undefeated record against all Region 4 opponents he faced during his two years at PSC. For his efforts during both the tournament and season, Velders was named the region player of the year.

Sophomore Carlos Adrian Alcala won the second singles title after besting Elias Jensens of Sauk Valley 6-0, 6-0, Lukas Cepranos of Moraine Valley (6-0, 6-1) and Dwayne Daarol of Lake County (6-4, 6-3).

Freshman David Voinea knocked of Jame Rhodes of Sauk Valley 6-0, 6-0, Brian Tomo of Oakton (6-1, 6-0 and Jykumar Patel of Moraine Valley (6-0, 6-0).

Sophomore Sanchin Vanaraja took down Dayton Fisher of Sauk Valley 6-0, 6-0, Brian Tomo of Oakton (6-1, 6-0) and Jaykumar Patel of Moraine Valley (6-0, 6-0) to claim the title at No. 3

Freshman Marko Djukic won the fifth singles title, defeating Dominic Gerardi of Elgin (6-0, 6-0) ,Dhrumil Prajapati of Moraine Valley (6-0, 6-1) and Kyle Goodman of Moraine Valley (4-6, 6-1, 10-3).

Sophomore Carlos Armando Alcala upended Adrian Vergara of Elgin (6-0, 6-1), Ronak Prajapati (Moraine Valley), 6-0, 6-1 and Logan Goetsch of Illinois Valley (6-1, 6-0).

On the doubles side, Velders and Adrian Alcala were victorious at the number one spot as were the number two duo of Voinea and Vanaraja. Djukic and Armando Alcala triumphed at No. 3.

BOX SCORE

#1 Singles: Nick Velders
d Carlos Morales (Elgin) 6-0 6-0
d Luke Bouvier (Oakton) 6-1 6-1
d Shingai Manyonga (Illinois Valley) 6-3 6-3

#2 Singles: Carlos Adrian Alcala
d Elias Jensen (Sauk Valley) 6-0 6-0
d Lukas Cepranos (Moraine Valley) 6-0 6-1
d Dwayne Daarol (Lake County) 6-4 6-3

#3 Singles: David Voinea
d Jame Rhodes (Sauk Valley) 6-0 6-0
d Cory Freed (McHenry) 6-0 6-0
d Evan Bernales (Lake County) 6-1 6-1

#4 Singles: Sachin Vanaraja
d Dayton Fisher (Sauk Valley) 6-0 6-0
d Brian Tomo (Oakton) 6-1 6-0
d Jaykumar Patel (Moraine Valley) 6-0 6-0

#5 Singles: Marko Djukic
d Dominic Gerardi (Elgin) 6-0 6-0
d Dhrumil Prajapati (Moraine Valley) 6-0 6-1
d Kyle Goodman 4-6 6-1 10-3

#6 Singles: Carlos Armando Alcala
d Adrian Vergara (Elgin) 6-0 6-1
d Ronak Prajapati (Moraine Valley) 6-0 6-1
d Logan Goetsch (Illinois Valley ) 6-1 6-0

#1 Doubles: Nick Velders-Carlos Adrian Alcala
d Dawson Newdyke-James Rhodes (Sauk Valley) 6-0 6-0
d Luke Bouvier-Sean Meyer (Oakton) 6-3 6-2
d Gavin Murrie-Dwayne Daarol (Lake County) 6-4 6-1

#2 Doubles: David Voinea-Sachin Vanaraja
d Simoune Eugenio-Nathan Lieu (Elgin) 6-0 6-0
d Ixit Prajapati-Jaykumar Patel (Moraine Valley) 6-1 6-2
d Evan Bernales-Lucas Junaskis (Lake County) 6-1 6-3

#3 Doubles: Marko Djukic-Carlos Armando Alcala
d Dominic Gerardi-Diego Adrianzen Ruiz (Elgin) 6-0 6-0
d Drhrumil Prajapati-Ronak Prajapati (Moraine Valley) 6-0 6-1
d Rowland Jasi-Logan Goestch (Illinois Valley) 6-1 6-3?

Final point standings
1 Prairie State College: 27
2 College of Lake County: 15.5
3 Illinois Valley Community College: 13.5
4 Moraine Valley Community College: 7
5 Oakton College: 3.5
6 McHenry County College: 1
T7 Sauk Valley Community College: 0
T7 Elgin Community College: 0
T7 Milwaukee Area Technical College: 0

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Players Mentioned

Carlos Armando Alcala: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Sachin Vanaraja: 6' 2"; Sophomore

Carlos Adrian Alcala: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Nick Velders: 6' 1"; Sophomore

David Voinea: 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Carlos Armando Alcala
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Sachin Vanaraja
: 6' 2"; Sophomore

Carlos Adrian Alcala
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Nick Velders
: 6' 1"; Sophomore

David Voinea
: 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned

Scoreboard