St. Peter, Minn. – After three days of tennis, the singles and doubles champions of the 2012 USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships have been crowned. Winning the singles title was Gustavus’s Mya Smith-Dennis (Jr., Savage, Minn.) and taking the doubles championship was UW-Whitewater’s Byron Balkin and Mitch Osbourne.
In the first semifinal of the singles draw, Fabricio Moncada of Saint John’s defeated Amrik Donkena (Sr., Rochester, Minn.) to earn a berth into the championship match. After dropping the first set 6-1, Moncada rebounded with back-to-back 6-1 wins to take the three set match.
Gustavus was guaranteed a player in the final, as Gusties Juan Luis Chu (Jr., Lima, Peru) and Smith-Dennis faced each other in the other semifinal. The two teammates traded the first two sets with Smith-Dennis taking the first (6-4) and Luis Chu winning the second (6-3). Mya cruised in the third set by the score of 6-2 to take the match.
In a Gustie vs. Johnnie championship, Moncada jumped out to an early lead after taking the first set 6-3. Smith-Dennis bounced back with a 6-4 win in set two to tie the match. The junior then used the momentum to win the championship with a 6-1 win in the third.
In the doubles championship later in the afternoon, second-seeded Byron Balkin and Mitch Osbourne cruised to a straight set victory over Donkena and Smith-Dennis by the score of 6-2, 6-3.
The Small College (NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College) singles and doubles champions from the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championships will advance to the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships, held October 11-14 at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama. The USTA/ITA National Small College Championships are comprised of the eight regional champions (and/or at-large selections) from NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges.