Related Links:
Regional Information
NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Web Page
 
*Note - as of 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, Thursday's match will be played at 4:30 p.m. at Hexberg Indoor Tennis Center in Elsah, Ill., due to inclement weather.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's tennis team will begin competition in the 2019 NCAA Division III Championship Thursday against Principia (Ill.) at 2 p.m. at the Tao Tennis Center on the campus of Washington-St. Louis in St. Louis, Mo. They are currently ranked ninth in the Central Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Friday's winner will advance to play No. 27 Kalamazoo at 2 p.m. on Friday.

The Warhawks, 15-7 overall, are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2017 and their 12th appearance in program history. UW-W earned a Pool "B" bid into the 43-team field and will face Principia for the first time since 2010. UW-Whitewater leads the all-time series, 4-3.

Freshman Alex Gray (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) and senior Jimmy Engelhart (Brookfield, Wis./East) are ranked 12th in the Central Region by ITA in doubles. Engelhart has two years of NCAA experience and 26 wins combined in singles and doubles this season. Gray has 37, which is the most on the team. Together, they have a 15-12 overall record in doubles play. Engelhart is projected to play at the No. 1 singles spot, while Gray will compete at the No. 3 spot.

Senior Brandon Dechter (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic) also has two years of NCAA Tournament experience. He will likely start at No. 2 singles with his 13 combined wins this season. He will pair with sophomore Robert Rider (Annapolis, Md./South River) to compete at No. 2 doubles. Rider also owns 13 wins this season.

Freshmen Ryan Mitchell (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) and Brendan Pietila (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead) will compete at the No. 4 and No. 5 singles spots, respectively. Mitchell has the second most wins on the team with 30, while Pietila has 13.
Junior Zach Wood (Downers Grove, Ill./South) will play at the No. 6 singles spot with his 23 wins, including 10 in singles. He will pair up with Mitchell for the No. 3 doubles spot. The two have a 5-3 record when playing together.
 
Head-to-head against other teams competing at the regional, UW-Whitewater has lost to No. 7 Washington-St. Louis, 8-1, on April 19, and to Kalamazoo, 5-4, on April 28. The team had an 8-1 victory over Illinois Tech. They have not faced Rose-Hulman or Principia this season.
 
See below for a complete match schedule:

Thursday
11 a.m. – Illinois Tech vs. Rose-Hulman (Ind.)
2 p.m. – UW-Whitewater vs. Principia 
Friday
11 a.m. – #7 Washington-St. Louis vs. winner of Illinois Tech/Rose-Hulman
2 p.m. - #27 Kalamazoo vs. winner of UW-Whitewater/Principia 
Saturday
Noon – Regional Championship Match