ORLANDO – The Cameron men's tennis team opens the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament early Thursday morning, facing No. 9 Northwest Missouri State.
This marks the fourth straight year that Josh Cobble's Aggies are in the National Tournament, and they get a chance to revenge an early season defeat by the Bearcats, as they met on March 7 at the Streich-Henry Tennis Complex with Northwest winning 4-3. The opening round match is set for 7:00 am (CDT).
The 2023 squad heads to the USTA National Campus (Collegiate Center) after winning the Lone Star Conference Tournament and taking the top seed in the South Central Region after the Black-and-Gold defeated Lubbock Christian 4-0 two weeks ago. Joao Duleba and Baptiste Mercier swept No. 2 doubles with a 6-0 win, and then Kristian Kubik and Emilio Seelbach won 6-2 at three to earn the doubles point for CU. Thomas Cardona, Mercier, and Kubik added singles wins to secure the Aggies' ticket to Florida.
Cameron makes the voyage to Orlando with a 16-3 record this spring. The Aggies are a very balanced team, as Cardona, Kubik and Mercier each won double-digit matches. Kubik has not lost to a DII opponent this year, winning 15 straight matches and holding a 15-1 record, Cardona is 12-5, and Mercier has a record of 14-2.
In doubles, Kubik and Seelbach are on a 15-match win streak at No. 3 doubles and hold a 15-1 record, and Duleba and Mercier are 11-3 at two. Tomas Almeida and Cardona are on a five-match win streak at No. 1 and hold a 9-5 overall record.
As a team, Cameron is currently ranked No. 12 by the ITA, with Almeida ranked No. 17 in singles play and Cardona coming in at No. 57 in the latest ranks. Almeida and Cardona are ranked No. 17 in doubles, while Duleba and Mercier are the 19th-ranked duo.
The Bearcats have a 15-6 record, entering the championship and winning nine of the last 10 matches. They beat Southeastern Oklahoma State 4-1 to win the Central Regional.
Northwest Missouri State is ranked No. 15 by the ITA as a team and has three players ranked in the top-75 in singles, and two doubles pairs are ranked in the top 50 pairs. Andrea Zamurri is the top single for the Bearcats at No. 13 with a 10-6 record; at No. 50 is Michael Delebois, and Fabien Calloud comes in at No. 63. Mason Meier and Jan Skerbatis are No. 19 as a duo, and Zamurri and Filippo Piranomonte enters the tournament as the 22nd ranked pair.
Cameron does a great job at making it to the NCAA Tournament, but they have not gotten past the first round since 2015 when Cameron Hall of Fame head coach James Helvey's squad beat Mercyhurst 5-0 before falling to Barry by the same score in the next round.
Live scoring is available for all matches played in Florida, thanks to Rollins College sports information. With a win, Cameron would play in the quarterfinals on Friday at 4:00 pm. The semifinal is set for Sunday at 4:00 pm, and then the final will be played Monday at 7:00 pm at the USTA National Campus (Collegiate Center).
