The St. Edward’s University men’s tennis team concluded regular season match play with an overall record of 10-9 and is currently preparing for upcoming tournaments.

The team ranks sixth in Division II, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, and second in the South Central Region, according to the NCAA.

Part of the reason for the disparity between the team’s high rankings and their record is that the team played several top-ranked schools this season. Earlier in the season, the Hilltoppers were defeated by the top two Division I schools in Texas, fifth-ranked Texas A&M University and eighth-ranked University of Texas.

“We opened the season with a difficult schedule,” Russell Sterns, the men’s tennis coach, said.

The schedule didn’t get much easier when the team traveled to Florida earlier this month to play the fourth and fifth ranked Division II schools, Barry University and Lynn University.

Though the Hilltoppers lost  to both universities, “the matches were closer than the score indicated,” Sterns said. He said the purpose of the trip was to “prepare [the players] for conference play. Those are the type of teams you’re going to see in the Sweet 16 and beyond.”

Toughing out the difficult schedule could pay off for the Hilltoppers come tournament time. St. Edward’s will head to Dallas to play in the Heartland Conference Tournament, which begins on Thursday. The team is hoping to once again clinch first place.

For the Hilltoppers to qualify for an NCAA regional tournament spot, they will need to be ranked in the top four of the South Central Region. St. Edward’s currently sits at second in the region. There will be two South Central Regionals that the first and second ranked teams in the region will host.

“We’d love to host a regional again,” Sterns said. “It’s very much a competitive advantage.”

By defeating Midwestern State, regionally ranked fifth, on April 15, the Hilltoppers are likely to qualify for the regional tournament.

If St. Edward’s is able to win one of the regionals, they will travel to Orlando for the Sweet 16 that begins on May 11.

A large crowd came out to support the team during the Midwestern State matches. In doubles action, the Hilltoppers got off to a quick 3-0 lead. Junior Ned Boone and senior Mick Walter defeated their opponents 8-5. Ryan Wiggins and Pedro Bronstrup followed suit with an 8-5 victory of their own. To finish up doubles play, James Rogers and Alex Bueno won 8-4. St. Edward’s only needed two wins in singles play from Walter and Rogers to clinch the 5-0 series win, and they got them.

Entering the season, Sterns wasn’t sure if this year’s team could match last year’s accomplishments of reaching the quarterfinals of the national tournament and finishing the year ranked 13th.

“I guess you could say this year’s team has been a pleasant surprise,” Sterns said.

Sterns points to good chemistry between players and a strong freshman class to explain why the team has not missed a beat after losing four seniors last year.

“Our freshman class has been great. Pedro Bronstrup [Brazil], James Rogers [Australia] and Alex Bueno [Brazil] have stepped right in and are playing the 4, 5 and 6 spots for us,” Sterns said.

The team is led by a solid one-two punch from Boone and Walter. Coach Sterns describes Boone, a junior from London, as a “big ball striker.” Sterns also complimented how hard Boone trains, claiming that “his fitness level is as good as — or better than — anyone’s in the country.” The ITA currently ranks Boone 48th among Division II singles players and sixth in the South Central Region.

“When Mick [Walter] first got here, I only had him playing doubles for us. Now he’s nationally ranked in doubles and singles,” Sterns said. “I’ve never seen a player improve as much as Mick has in his four years here.”

Sterns has coached the team for 24 seasons.

In singles, Walter ranks one spot behind his doubles teammate, Boone, at 49th nationally and seventh in the region. The doubles pair of Boone and Walter rank 28th nationally.

Walter’s last home match was against Midwestern State on Senior Day.  Before the match, Sterns took a moment to praise Walter’s accomplishments over the last four years. Walter has been part of a top-ranked doubles pair every year on the team despite playing with three different teammates.

Walter and his teammates will have to bring their current momentum to the Heartland Conference tournament on Thursday and Friday to advance to regionals the following week.