Southern Illinois and Wichita State took home the hardware at the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Championships in Omaha, Neb., hosted by Creighton University. Southern Illinois won its third title in school history and its first since 1990, while Wichita State won its league-leading 10th title and its third in four years.

No. 2 Southern Illinois def. No. 1 Drake, 4-3
The Salukis downed top-seeded Drake, 4-3, in an exciting matchup that came down to the final set at the No. 5 singles position. SIU’s Sebastian Rubiano came back from being down a set to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, clinching the victory for the Salukis and earning the MVC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championships.

Drake got out to an early 1-0 lead after securing the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Maor Zirkin and Cesar Bracho took down Felipe Villasenor and Eric West (8-5) at No. 1, while Mauricio Ballivian and Ivan Mendoza defeated Lucas Waked and Anton Leonenko (8-3) at No. 2.

Southern Illinois’ Eric West, the Valley Freshman of the Year, earned the Salukis first point with a win at No. 3 singles over Cesar Bracho (6-3, 6-2), before SIU’s Hugo Vidal downed DU’s Ivan Mendoza (6-4, 6-3) at the No. 4 slot, putting the Salukis up, 2-1.

Drake’s Maor Zirkin, the Valley Player of the Year, evened the score at 2-2 when he downed SIU’s Felipe Villasenor (7-5, 6-3) at the top singles flight, and DU’s Mauricio Ballivian put the Bulldogs back on top (3-2) with a No. 2 singles victory over Lucas Waked (7-5, 6-2).

Southern Illinois’ Anton Leonenko evened the score at 3-3 following a 6-4, 6-2 win over DU’ Ricardo Lau at No. 6, before Sebastian Rubiano clinched the match for the Salukis with his No. 5 victory over Guilherme Marsiglia (2-6, 6-2, 6-4).

Men's Championship Presentation Photo Gallery

No. 1 Wichita State def. No. 7 UNI, 4-0

Top-seeded Wichita State topped No. 7 UNI, 4-0, in convincing fashion, winning its league-leading 10th title and its third in four years. The Shockers earned the doubles point behind victories at the top two positions, as Lutfiana Budiharto and Anna Egorova took down Sampada Kanada and Diana Mendez (8-1) at the No. 1 slot, while Stephanie Dalmacio and Florentina Hanisch beat Phoebe Walker and Laia Gonzalez (8-4) at the No. 2 position.

In singles play, Wichita State’s Egorova made quick work of UNI’s Phoebe Walker in a perfect 6-0, 6-0 victory at the top flight, while WSU’s Dalmacio finished minutes later with a win over UNI’s Jessica Kuncelmann (6-1, 6-1) at the No. 2 slot.

Senior Shocker Torrie Browning clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-4, win over Kanade at the No. 3 position, giving Wichita State its championship title and the Valley’s automatic berth into the 2009 NCAA Tennis Championships.

Women's Championship Presentation Photo Gallery

2009 State Farm MVC Tennis Team Championship Information
MVC Tennis Information	Championship Information	Facility
Standings: Men / Women	Championship Preview	Koch Family Tennis Center
Statistics: Men / Women	Bracket	Directions
Records: Men / Women	All-Conference Teams	Weather

2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tennis Team Championship Schedule
Friday-Sunday • April 24-26 • Koch Family Tennis Center • Omaha, Neb.
Friday, April 24 • Women's Opening Round			Friday, April 24
Match 1: Creighton def. Bradley, 4-1	Recap	Results
Friday, April 24 • Women's Quarterfinals			Friday, April 24 • Men's Quarterfinals
Match 2: Illinois State def. Drake, 4-0	Recap	Results	Match 1: Illinois State def. Bradley, 4-0	Recap	Results
Match 3: Southern Illinois def. Evansville, 4-0	Recap	Results	Match 2: Southern Illinois def. Creighton, 5-0	Recap	Results
Match 4: UNI def. Indiana State, 4-3	Recap	Results	Match 3: Wichita State def. Indiana State, 5-0	Recap	Results
Match 5: Wichita State def. Creighton, 4-0	Recap	Results
Saturday, April 25 • Women's Semifinals			Saturday, April 25 • Men's Semifinals
Match 6: Wichita State def. Illinois State, 4-0	Recap	Results	Match 5: Drake def. Illinois State, 4-1	Recap	Results
Match 7: UNI def. Southern Illinois, 5-2	Recap	Results	Match 6: Southern Illinois def. Wichita State, 4-3	Recap	Results
Sunday, April 26 • Women's Final			Sunday, April 26 • Men's Final
Match 8: Wichita State def. UNI, 4-0	Recap	Results	Match 7: Southern Illinois def. Drake, 4-3	Recap	Results