Jason Smit has been a major part of the Redbird mens tennis teams success over the last three and a half years, and this weekend will be Smits last attempt to win Missouri Valley Conference individual championship.
An MVC individual championship has eluded Smit the past three years. As a freshman he placed second in #1 singles, as a sophomore he got second in #2 singles, and last year he lost in the semifinals in #2 singles.
This weekend Smit is ranked #1 in #2 singles and will face off against either Marko Despot of Wichtita State or Paul Craigen of Bradley.
Smit is not the only Bird who will competing for an MVC individual crown this weekend. Djordje Uskokovic will be playing in the #1 singles flight as a five seed against Pavel Hanek of SMS; Marek Blaskovic will be playing in a qualifying round against Filip Knezevic of SMS for #3 singles; Ben Cappuccitti will be competing as a four seed against Mark Muskievicz of Bradley in #4 singles; Ben Pettinari will be competing in a qualifying round for #5 singles against Cian Carlo Remigio of SIU; Ciaran Foley earned a #2 seed in #6 singles and will face Bojan Ilievski; and Andy Martin will play Juan Escalante from WSU in #7 singles as a four seed.
In doubles competition Uskokovic and Pettinari will play in the #1 doubles bracket, Smit and Martin are paired to play in the #2 doubles flight, and Blaskovic and Foley will play in the #3 doubles division.
Coach Greg Kennett feels that the MVC individual championships are a great way for the Birds to measure up against their conference foes.
The MVC championships really help as an introduction to all the Valley teams and what we will face when the conference season starts, said Kennett.
The MVC individual championships will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, and will run Saturday through Monday with competition starting at approximately 9:00 a.m. each day.
