INDIANAPOLIS, IN. – The conclusion of the ITA Division II Men’s National Team Indoor Championship was going to be one for the history books. Host school, UIndy, and number 3 seeded Saint Leo, were both looking to make their marks in the ITA record books, as first time winners of this event.
UIndy would find their way to the Championship by taking down Barry (No. 1) and Wayne State (No. 5) to reach their second Men’s National Team Indoor Final in the past 3 years (2021).
For Saint Leo, this would be their furthest appearance in the event after dropping out in the Semifinals of last year. They would have to dispatch of Hawaii Pacific (No. 9) and Columbus State (No. 2)
For the title, the balance of the match wavered as we started off in doubles play. Court 3 doubles would swing in the way of UIndy, 6-1, while Court 2 would go the way of Lhe Lions, 6-3. It would be left to Court 1 doubles, as Destouet and Zeuch (UIndy) would rattle off 3 straight games from 4-5 to take the doubles point, and the 1-0 lead for UIndy.
Moving to singles play, momentum was not on the side of UIndy. Saint Leo would go on to take 4 of the 6 first sets, setting them up for contention of The Championship. The first matches to come off were court 3, by a score of 6-3 6-3, and court 5 (6-4 6-4), both in the favor of Saint Leo.
At 2-1, Saint Leo would add yet another point on the board from court 1 as Ivan Marrero Curbelo would provide a 7-5 6-2 win, pushing the Lions 1 court away from their program’s first ever National Team Indoor title. The final 3 courts would be decided through 3rd sets and it looked to be anyone’s match.
On court 2 singles, it would be Martin Soukal (Saint Leo) who would land the knockout blow. After a valiant effort from UIndy, Soukal came out on top, with a 6-3 2-6 7-5 victory, and was greeted by his wide grinned teammates as the celebrations commenced.
With this victory, Saint Leo University can finally bring home its coveted first, National Indoor Championship!
