Members of the Washington University Tennis on Campus team, which won the Tennis on Campus Fall Invite in Kansas City.
It was a close call, but Washington University's Tennis on Campus team won the 2011 USTA Missouri Valley Tennis on Campus Fall Invite on Sunday at the Plaza Tennis Center in Kansas City.
Washington advanced to the championship match after winning their pool on Saturday. They were joined in the gold bracket by fellow pool winners Nebraska, Arkansas and Truman State, which had the highest percentage of games won among non-pool winners.
Washington dispatched Truman State in the semifinals and Nebraska breezed by Arkansas, setting up the final match of the day. Washington jumped out ahead after the singles and doubles matches, holding a five-game lead going into mixed doubles, the final event.
Washington grabbed a 4-0 lead in the mixed match, but Nebraska mounted a furious comeback to win the set 6-4. That sent the match into overtime, giving Nebraska a chance to catch up one games won. They won the first two games of overtime to pull within one game of sending the final into a super tiebreaker. Washington, however, was able to hold on and win that game, securing a narrow 26-24 win.
Arkansas --which won the Sportsmanship Award for the weekend -- took third place overall in the gold bracket, topping Truman State 28-17 in the third-place match.
The silver bracket was won by Washington University's B Team, while Kansas State's A Team won the bronze bracket.
Full Results:
Gold Bracket:
1. Washington University (A Team)
2. University of Nebraska
3. University of Arkansas
4. Truman State University
Silver Bracket:
1. Washington University (B Team)
2. Missouri State University
3. Missouri Science and Technology
4. Drake University
Bronze Bracket:
1. Kansas State University (A Team)
2. Drury University
3. Kansas State University (B Team)