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2026 Final Men's Tennis Preview Story Photo

Men's Tennis Chris Kuchta

One Last Ride: PSC Tennis Embarks on Program’s Final Campaign

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. --- When it comes to consistent success amongst the eight intercollegiate athletic programs offered at Prairie State, there is one clearly-defined "King of the Hill" and it isn't even up for debate.
 
Men's tennis is the Pioneers' undisputed champion of champions.
 
While it has yet to bring home a national title, as PSC's men's soccer team did in 2022, head coach Don Gobbie's program has won more regional and conference titles, in total and succession, than any other sport in school history.
 
Despite all of this success, however, PSC made the difficult decision last summer to disband the program after the 2026 campaign.
 
That said, Gobbie and the Pioneers are determined to send PSC tennis out in style.
 
"I think we can finish in the top ten at the national tournament and that would be a great way to go out," Gobbie said.  "I've enjoyed my five seasons guiding this program and I'm confident we can establish records in our final year to finish things off."
 
Since its inception as an intercollegiate sport in 2010, the Pioneers, under head coaches Patrick Reichard, Brian Johnson, Adesuwa Osabuohien and Gobbie, have secured nine NJCAA Region 4 championships and 12 Illinois Skyway Conference titles.
 
Gobbie, who's team is once again favored to claim both the region and league crowns, has been at the helm of PSC tennis for the last three championships in each.
 
The Pioneers enter 2026 having not lost a region or conference match in three years.  In fact, with the exception of an 8-1 victory over Lake County in 2023, PSC has defeated all of its region and league opponents by 9-0 finals.
 
PSC also steps into the new campaign in the midst of a school-record 27-match winning streak within Region 4.
 
As is typically the case in most season's, Gobbie has once again constructed a schedule that will challenge the Pioneers in the early going.
 
The Pioneers will take on four-year opponent University of St. Francis on March 15 before squaring off against NCAA Division I programs Illinois State  (March 20) and Chicago State (April 11).
 
The strong schedule benefits the Pioneers on many levels as evidenced by UTRsports.net posting the Pioneers 18th nationally in its latest junior college poll.
 
"We have a very strong schedule and I'd like to do well against the four-year teams that we'll play," Gobbie said. "Our program has gotten to a point where, due to our success, the four-year schools we play do not run their JV lineup out against us.  They play their varsity guys because they know we will give them a tough match."
 
As important as on-court performance is for the Pioneers, it is equally critical for Gobbie to see his players taking care of business in the classroom as well.
 
The Pioneers have routinely posted a team grade point average north of 3.5 throughout Gobbie's entire tenure.
 
"I would like to see us finish towards the top of the NJCAA All-Academic rankings once again," Gobbie said.  "Last year we came in second place by just a few percentage points.  All the players on this year's team are 'A' students and I think we can do well again this year."
 
Prairie State's final men's tennis team features a six-man lineup with sophomore Yoog Gundani (Mansfield State H.S., AUSTRALIA) in the number one singles position followed by sophomore Tendai Chihowa (Princeton Institute, ZIMBABWE) at second singles.
 
The no.3 spot will be held down by freshman Marko Brkovic (Applewood Heights Secondary, CANADA) with sophomore Ben Lawrie (Cabra Dominican College, AUSTRALIA) in the fourth slot and freshman Fergus Larkin (Seaton H.S., AUSTRALIA) at no.5 and sophomore Jonathan Hii (Charles La Trobe P-12 College, AUSTRALIA) at no. 6
 
"All of our players have excellent ground strokes, Gobbie said. "With Yoog, Ben and Fergus, we've made some technical adjustments on their serves to make them more powerful.  In the next few weeks, we'll be focusing on coming into the net more in doubles, and by the time we get to nationals, that area of everyone's games will have improved."
 
The Pioneers will square off against Illinois Valley on February 27 at 4 p.m. at the Park Forest Tennis and Health Club.
 
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Players Mentioned

Tendai Chihowa

Tendai Chihowa

Sophomore
Yoog Gundani

Yoog Gundani

Sophomore
Ben Lawrie

Ben Lawrie

Sophomore
Jonathan Hii

Jonathan Hii

Sophomore
Fergus Larkin

Fergus Larkin

Freshman
Marko Brkovic

Marko Brkovic

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Tendai Chihowa

Tendai Chihowa

Sophomore
Yoog Gundani

Yoog Gundani

Sophomore
Ben Lawrie

Ben Lawrie

Sophomore
Jonathan Hii

Jonathan Hii

Sophomore
Fergus Larkin

Fergus Larkin

Freshman
Marko Brkovic

Marko Brkovic

Freshman

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