The top seeds were the victors in the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championships as Wichita State claimed the women's crown and Drake took home the men's trophy in hard-fought battles in the finals over Indiana State and Wichita State, respectively.

The Shocker women moved to 26-2 on the season with a 4-2 decision, but not without being pushed by Indiana State in the final. The four-hour ten-minute marathon was highlighted by four, three-set singles matches and another unfinished match that was playing in the third.

Doubles
1) Madina Rakhim & Florentina Hanisch (WSU) def. Jennifer Migan & Joanne Shickerling (INS), 8-3
2) Stephanie Dalmacio & Anna Egorova (WSU) def. Ariane Masschelein & Marie Caujolle (INS), 8-5
3) Lenore Lazaroiu & Jackie Richey (WSU) vs Sarah Galparoli & Fadzai Masiyazi (INS), unf.
Singles
1) Madina Rakhim (WSU) def. Jennifer Migan (INS), 6-1, 1-6, 6-2
2) Florentina Hanisch (WSU) vs. Ariane Masschelein (INS), unf.
3) Lenore Lazaroiu (WSU) def. Sarah Galparoli (INS), 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
4) Joanne Schickerling (INS) def. Stephanie Dalmacio (WSU), 6-7, 6-2, 6-3
5) Fadzai Masiyazi (INS) def. Anna Egorova (WSU), 6-4, 6-7, 6-1
6) Torrie Browning (WSU) def. Marie Caujolle (INS), 6-4, 6-0

Men’s Championship
Wichita State was looking to make it a men’s/women’s sweep in the finals as the No. 3 seeded men jumped out in front of national No. 53 and top-seeded Drake, 1-0, after taking the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and 3, but, in the end, Drake would top the Shockers, 4-2, for the title.
 
The all-Valley tandem of Maor Zirkin and Dalibor Pavic provided the only doubles win for the Bulldogs, an 8-5 decision over Goran Vujaklija and Boris Gubic at No. 1.
 
Wichita State would recover from the deficit and made a statement in a battle of all-conference teams at No. 3 doubles.
 
A day after learning they were sharing the all-league honors with their Drake counterparts, WSU’s Tiago Espirito Santo and Kevin Gardner made their argument as top dogs with an 8-5 win over Guilherme Marsiglia and Bokang Setshogo to even the doubles tie.
 
Another 8-5 result would determine the doubles point and Wichita State had what it took in Thiago Dos Santos and Albert Ballesta.  The Shocker duo got the better of Drake’s Sergi Vila and Ivan Mendoza at No. 2, giving the early edge to Wichita State.
 
Drake would waste little time in evening the match as their strength in singles shown through once again.
 
Pavic tied the championship tilt, quickly dispatching Boris Gubic, 6-3, 6-0.
 
All-conference No. 2 player Sergi Vila would give the Bulldogs the lead with a tidy 6-1, 6-2 win over Espirito Santo before Thiago Dos Santos squared the match at two with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 4 over Marsiglia.
 
Ultimately, the singles depth of Drake would prevail with Ivan Mendoza taking a 6-1, 6-2 win over Kevin Gardner at No. 6 and MVC Freshman of the Year Bokang Setshogo putting the finishing touches on the Bulldogs’ second Valley title in as many years with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 win over Albert Ballesta at No. 5.
 
Drake improves to 23-2 with its 22^nd-consecutive dual victory and earns the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championship draw for a second year in-a-row while WSU falls to 12-9 overall.
 
#1 Drake def. #3 Wichita State - 4-2
Doubles
1) Maor Zirkin & Dalibor Pavic (DU) def. Goran Vujaklija & Boris Gubic (WSU), 8-5
2) Thiago Dos Santos & Albert Ballesta (WSU) def. Sergi Vila & Ivan Mendoza (DU), 8-5
3) Tiago Espirito Santo & Kevin Gardner (WSU) def. Guilherme Marsiglia & Bokang Setshogo (DU), 8-5
 
Singles
1) Maor Zirkin (DU) vs. Goran Vujaklija (WSU), unf.
2) Sergi Vila (DU) def. Tiago Espirito Santo (WSU), 6-1, 6-2
3) Dalibor Pavic (DU) def. Boris Gubic (WSU), 6-0, 6-3
4) Thiago Dos Santos (WSU) def. Guilherme Marsiglia (DU), 6-3, 6-2
5) Bokang Setshogo (DU) def. Albert Ballesta (WSU), 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
6) Ivan Mendoza (DU) def. Kevin Gardner (WSU), 6-1, 6-2
 
 

Day Two Recap
The top seeds in the men’s and women’s 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championship brackets swept their way into Sunday’s finals as the Drake men and Wichita State women posted 4-0 wins in semifinal action at the Koch Family Tennis Center in Omaha, Neb.
 
The Missouri Valley Conference’s two nationally-ranked women’s teams will face off for the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament as No. 36 Wichita State and No. 66 Indiana State swept semifinal matches to advance to Sunday’s championship match while national No. 53 Drake will face Wichita State on the men’s side after the Bulldogs topped Indiana State, 4-0, and the Shockers pulled out a thrilling 4-2 win over Illinois State in the men’s semifinals.
   
No. 1 Drake def. No. 4 Indiana State, 4-0
 
Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Maor Zirkin helped the defending champion Bulldogs get off to a good start in their opening match at the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championship after Drake earned a bye into the semifinals after winning the regular-season crown.
 
Zirkin and all-conference partner Dalibor Pavic got the ball rolling for Drake, stopping Indiana State’s Rishi Behl and Mpiloenhle Migogo at No. 1 doubles, 8-5, providing all-MVC No. 3 doubles tandem Guilherme Marsiglia and Bokang Setshogo the opportunity to secure the doubles point with their 8-6 win over Michael Wenham and Jon Sigurdsson.
 
Leading 1-0, the Bulldogs let their strength take over, as their all-conference trio of Zirkin, Sergi Vila and Pavic made quick work of Sycamore opponents to advance the Bulldogs.
 
Zirkin surrendered just three games to All-Select team member, Anton Tsymbalov, winning 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 singles.
 
Vila was workman like in topping Rishi Behl, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 2 while Pavic sealed the dual with another straight-set win at No. 3, 6-2, 6-2, over Migogo.
 
Drake’s win is their 21^st-straight and improves their record to 22-2 overall.
 
 
No. 3 Wichita State def. No. 2 Illinois State, 4-2
Wichita State took advantage of its doubles point win and outlasted second seed Illinois State 4-2 in the second men’s semifinal at the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championship.
 
Goran Vujaklija and Boris Gubic claimed a decisive victory over Yohann Nograbat and Alfredo Lagarda, 8-1, to get the Shockers in front in doubles play.
 
After the No. 2 all-conference doubles team of Luka Marinkovic and Daniel Tobar pulled the Redbirds even, the Shockers’ all-conference duo of Tiago Espirito Santo and Kevin Gardner gave WSU the point with an 8-5 win over Oscar Beich and Michael Hobson.
 
Vujaklija, the men’s individual champion at No. 1 singles, would get the best of Nograbat again in singles, topping the all-select honoree, 6-1, 7-5.
 
Illinois State would pull two points back at No. 2 and 3, with Alfredo Lagarda trumping Tiago Espirito Santo 6-2, 7-5, and Luka Marinkovic getting the better of Boris Gubic, 7-6, 6-3 at No. 3.
 
The Valley’s all-conference player at No. 4 singles, Thiago Dos Santos, would prove his worth for the Shockers with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Xavier Riart-Ferrer.
 
Trailing 2-5 in the third set, WSU’s Albert Ballesta rallied to claim the final five games to squeeze by Illinois State’s Daniel Tobar at No. 5 singles, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, to move the Shockers into the final.
 
Women's Semifinals 
No. 1 Wichita State def. No. 4 Illinois State, 4-0
The Wichita State women’s tennis train rolled on in the first semifinal at the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championship, cruising to a 4-0 win over No. 4 Illinois State to advance to Sunday’s final.
 
The Shockers won their ninth in a row and moved to 25-2 overall while Illinois State falls to 13-9 overall.
 
WSU came out quickly in doubles, earning wins at the top two positions to claim the team point.
 
Madina Rakhim and Florentina Hanisch topped Katri Miller and Veronique Parke-Bedard, 8-1, at No. 1 while Stephanie Dalmacio and Anna Egorova dropped Carolyne Parent and Matea Simovic, 8-2, at No. 2.
 
Singles action was more of the same as the nation’s No. 36 team would not be denied, posting three straight-set victories to advance.
 
Rakhim, the 71^st-rated singles player in the country, dispatched Miller, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles to start the ball rolling for the Shockers.
 
Lenore Lazaroiu earned a 6-2, 6-2 win over Parke-Bedard at No. 3 and Anna Egorova posted the seam result over Jeanelle Stines at No. 5 to complete the sweep.
  
No. 2 Indiana State def. No. 6 Southern Illinois, 4-0
National No. 66 Indiana State took care of business in the second women’s semifinal of the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championship, posting a 4-0 win over No. 6 Southern Illinois to set up a final between the league’s two nationally-rated programs.
 
All-Conference player Jennifer Migan teamed with Joanne Schickerling to get things going for the Sycamores in doubles, shutting out Southern Illinois’ Ame Blacketer and Jessica Flannery, 8-0, at No. 1.
 
ISU would secure the doubles point at No. 3 as Sarah Galparoli and Fadzai Masiyazi were 8-3 winners of Sabine Tsala Mvilongo and Agata Skorupska.
 
Singles would be a top-half show for Indiana State, yielding just four games en route to the team win.
 
Migan, the 86^th-rated singles player in the country, was a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Tsala Mvilongo at No. 1 while all-conference No. 2 singles and Valley Freshman of the Year Ariane Masschelein blanked Ame Blacketer, 6-0, 6-0.
 
They Sycamores would move into the final with a win at No. 3 by Joanne Schickerling, 6-1, 6-1 over Skorupska.
 
 
 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Day One Recap

Play in Friday’s quarterfinals has completed and the top four seeds remain for tomorrow’s semifinals as Illinois State, Wichita State and Indiana State advanced.
 
No. 2 Illinois State def. No. 7 Creighton, 5-0
 
Alfredo Lagarda captured a pair of wins in singles and doubles for the Illinois State University men's tennis team as the Redbirds conquered, host Creighton 5-0 in the first round of the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Championships, Friday in Omaha Neb. at the Koch Family Tennis Center.
 
The Redbirds, ranked No. 2, entered today's contest confident as they took down Creighton. Playing at the top position in doubles for the Redbirds, Yohann Nograbat and Lagarda took down Nikita Dudar and Joe Eckert, 8-2. Oscar Beich and Michael Hobson teamed at No. 3 and secured the doubles point, defeating Ross Allen and Michael Elson, 8-5.
 
Luka Marinnkovic and Daniel Tobar's match at No. 2 was unfinished as the Redbirds claimed the point quickly at No. 1 and 3 positions.
In singles action Xavier Riart-Ferrer, Tobar, Marinkovic, and Lagarda captured wins at 4, 5, 3, and 2 to secure the win for the Redbirds. With the win secured Nograbat and Beich ended their matches unfinished at Nos. 1 and 5. 

The Redbirds (13-7, 6-1) enter the semifinals tomorrow Sat. April 28 and face Wichita State (11-8, 5-2) a foe that ISU has defeated before in a tight, 4-3 decision. First serve is set at 2 p.m.
 
 
No. 3 Wichita State def. No. 6 Bradley, 4-0
 
The Wichita State men’s tennis team won its first Missouri Valley Conference Championship match against Bradley, 4-0. 
 
The Shockers started play by easily winning the doubles point after No. 1 doubles pair, Goran Vujaklija and Boris Gubic, overcame Alex Roby and Will Lofgren, 8-3, and No. 2 doubles team, Thiago Dos Santos and Albert Ballesta, defeated Ismael Rodrigo and Evgeny Samoylov, 8-2.
 
Vujaklija kept up the pace with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Samoylov to give the Shockers a 2-0 lead.  Dos Santos then won the No. 4 point with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Matt Metully.  Ballesta finished the match with his win over Roby, 7-6, 6-0, for the Shocker win.
 
WSU will now take on No. 2 Illinois State on April 28 at 2 p.m.

 
No. 4 Indiana State def. No. 5 Southern Illinois, 4-1
 
The Indiana State University men’s tennis team defeated Southern Illinois 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Tennis Championships this afternoon (Friday). The fourth seeded Sycamores (11-11 overall) advance to meet top-seeded Drake at 11 a.m. (CST) Saturday in the first semifinal match up.
 
The Sycamores earned the doubles point after Anton Tsymbalov and Bruno Echor combined for an 8-5 win over SIU’s Felipe Villasenor and Lucas Waked at No. 2 doubles, and Michael Wenham and Jon Sigurdsson also posted an 8-5 win, defeating Southern Illinois’s Rodrigo Lama and Breno Salvany at No. 3 doubles. Rishi Behl and Mpiloenhle Migogo was in front of Nick Bauer and Sergio Sanchez 5-3 when the match was called.
 
Needing just three victories in singles to advance in the tournament, ISU earned a point at No. 2 singles when Rishi Behl defeated Sanchez 6-4, 6-4. Migogo picked up another point for the Sycamores with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Hugo Vidal at No. 3 with Terre Haute native Blake Douglas winning at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-4, over Bauer to give Indiana State the win.
 
Women's Championship Updates 

 
On the women’s side, No. 6 Southern Illinois was an upset winner over No. 3 UNI, 4-0, while the remainder of the quarterfinal matches held true to seeding.
 
No. 8 Creighton def. No. 9 Bradley, 4-2
The Creighton women's tennis team continued its late-season surge, defeating Bradley, 4-2, in first-round play of the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championships. The win improved CU to 9-11 on the season, and was the team's third win in the past five matches. Bradley dropped to 5-18 with the setback.
The number three doubles team of Cassie Yoneshige and Jodi Yanagida beat the Bradley tandem of Erin Krubeck and Emily Regenold, 8-4, exacting revenge from an 8-6 loss two weeks earlier in regular-season play. CU's number one doubles pairing of Tess Reddin and Katie Chiu won their fifth straight match, winning 8-4 over Elise Montrose and Jessica Buterbaugh. Once CU clinched the doubles point, the number two doubles match was abandoned.
In singles play, it was Thurston that came through for the decisive point. The Bluejays led 3-2, with the No. 2  and No.3 singles matches headed to the third set. Thurston, who dropped the first set 6-2, won the second set 7-6 and before beating Regenold 6-2 to seal the match.
Yoneshige's play at the number six singles position was also crucial. Yoneshige, who had lost in straight sets to BU's Kim Braun two weeks ago, turned the tables on Braun in a 6-4, 6-3 decision.
Chiu, named CU's first two-time all-MVC performer last night, beat Montrose 6-3, 6-1.
 
No. 4 Illinois State def. No. 5 Drake, 4-2
 
The Illinois State women’s tennis team defeated Drake, 4-2, for the second time this week on Friday in its first-round match of the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship at the Koch Family Center in Omaha, Neb.  Freshman Julia Zubkova helped ISU advance to the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season by scoring a 7-6, 7-5 victory over Drake’s Eve Rusdianto at the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
 
With the victory, the fourth-seeded Redbirds improve their overall record to 13-8, while fifth-seeded Drake ends its season with a 9-14 mark.
 
The Redbirds return to action on Saturday at 11 a.m. against the winner of Friday afternoon’s contest between top-seeded Wichita State and No. 8 Creighton.
 
Unlike this past Sunday’s regular-season finale, the Redbirds jumped ahead of the Bulldogs, 1-0, by claiming the coveted doubles point.  At the top spot in the lineup, senior Katri Miller and junior Véronique Parke-Bédard avenged their recent loss to Veronika Leszayova and Alison Wilkie by registering an 8-5 victory. The win was the 18^th for the Redbird tandem this season.  Drake captured the No. 2 position when Rusdianto and Irina Kalashnikova bested Parent and senior Matea Simovic, 8-1.  At the No. 3 spot, ISU took care of business when Zubkova and sophomore Megan Rozboril beat Kari Sloboth and Sarah Plowman, 8-4, to clinch the point.
 
As the match moved to singles action, Parke-Bédard secured ISU’s second point by upending Kalashnikova in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, at the No. 3 spot in the lineup.  This marked the second time in the Pont-Rouge, Québec, native’s career she has reached the 20-win plateau.
 
Drake cut the Redbirds’ lead to 3-2 by registering wins at the No. 1 and No. 6 positions.  At the top spot, Leszayova outlasted Miller in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, while Simovic was swept, 6-1, 6-3, by Sloboth.
 
Zubkova notched the match-clinching victory with her straight-set win over Rusdianto. The Tallinn, Estonia, native now has 18 victories on the season and six wins over Valley foes during dual-match play.
 
ISU now turns its attention to either Wichita State or Creighton.  On April 14, the Redbirds fell to the Shockers, 7-0, but faired much better against the Bluejays, winning 4-1 in Omaha on Mar. 31.
 
 
No. 6 Southern Illinois def. No. 3 UNI, 4-0

The Southern Illinois women's tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament for the first time since 1995 with a 4-0 victory over the University of Northern Iowa today.
With the win, the Salukis improved their season record to 13-9 while the Panthers fell to 17-6.
SIU got off to a great start, winning two of three doubles matches to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Ame Blacketer and Jessica Flannery teamed up for a win at No, 1 singles over Meghana Paritala and Agnese Pukse, 8-5.
Michela Cruise and Muartina Vianna Ce fell to Taynara Moraes and Mariana Muraca 8-3 at No. 2. Sabine Tsala Mvilongo and Agata Skorupska wrapped up the doubles point for the Salukis with an 8-5 win at No. 3 over Carolina Hannes and Meredith Esbeck.
The Salukis continued to dominate in singles play, winning three straight matches to collect the four points necessary for the win.
Blacketer won at No. 2 over Pukse, 6-1, 6-0. Flannery defeated Hannes at No. 3, 7-6, 6-4. Vianna Ce picked up the Salukis' third singles point with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Esbeck.
The sixth-seeded Salukis will now face No. 2 seed Indiana State in the semifinals. The match is set to begin ay 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Koch Family Tennis Center in Omaha, Neb.

 
No. 2 Indiana State def. No. 7 Evansvile, 5-0
No. 2 seed Indiana State turned in an impressive quarterfinal performance in their opening match at the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Women's Tennis Championship, topping No. 7 seed Evansville, 5-0, to advance to Saturday's semifinal against Southern Illinois, an upset winner over No. 3 UNI.
 
The Sycamores swept the doubles competition, earning the team point with a trio of wins.
 
Jennifer Migan and Joanne Schickerling topped Beth Peyton and Brittany Brown at the top spot, 8-3, while Ariane Masschelein and Kelly Hamm scored the same in a win at No. 2 over Lisa Kawamoto and Sara Wilhoite.
 
In singles play, Indiana State wasted little time in securing the required team points, sweeping the four completed matches to advance.
 
Masschelein, the MVC Freshman of the Year, dominated in a 6-0, 6-0 route at No. 2 singles while Sarah Galparoli, Schickerling and Fadzai Masiyazi all claimed straight-set wins for the Sycamores.
 
Indiana State moves to 14-8 on the season while Evansville falls to 18-9.
 
No. 1 Wichita State def. No. 8 Creighton, 4-0
The Shockers opened the match by taking the number one and number three doubles matches by identical 8-0 shutouts. CU did win two of seven games from Thurston and Lindsey Erickson at number two doubles, but that contest was stopped when WSU captured the doubles point. All three Shocker doubles pairings were named all-conference.
In singles action, the Shockers line-up is equally stacked, as each of its top six players were first-team all-MVC. Stephanie Dalmacio (at number four) and Torrie Browning (at number six) won by identical scores of 6-0, 6-1. A 6-0, 6-0 whitewash by Anna Egorova at number five singles sealed the match for Wichita State and 2007 MVC Coach of the Year Chris Young's troops.
In search of a second consecutive MVC Tournament Championship, Wichita State advanced to Saturday's semifinal and a match-up with fourth-seeded Illinois State at 11 am at Koch Family Tennis Center. The other semi-final will be a 2 pm contest between second-seeded Indiana State and sixth-seeded Southern Illinois.