Kansas men’s tennis isn’t dead yet.
Four Jayhawks on Thursday received at-large bids to the upcoming NCAA championships, May 19-28 in Athens, Ga.
See the 6News report on this story.
“It’s pretty exciting we can continue our season,” KU junior Quentin Blakeney said. “I’m going to play my heart out and represent KU the best I can.”
The No. 93-ranked Blakeney (34-6) and his teammates had their hearts torn out earlier this semester when KU’s athletics department decided to eliminate men’s swimming and men’s tennis, effective at the end of the season.
“I guess we just made the best of the situation,” KU sophomore Pete Stroer said after learning he and Blakeney (25-11) received an at-large bid in doubles, along with the team of Rodrigo Echagaray and Eleazar Magallan (13-9).
“I would rather go as a whole team, but we’ll take what we can get in doubles as well as Quentin’s singles selection,” Salina native Stroer added.
KU coach Ross Nwachukwu had mixed emotions following the NCAA announcements.
“I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get in as a team,” he said of the 15-11 Jayhawks, who did not land one of the 34 at-large bids in team competition. “I am happy half our team is going to be able to represent Kansas in Athens, Ga. We are probably one of maybe two schools in the country with two doubles teams represented. I think our guys can compete with anybody in the nation. They can beat anybody if they play the way they are capable of playing.”
Blakeney is determined to go out with a bang in Athens.
The Charlotte, N.C., junior has a chance to record the most victories by a Jayhawk since Craig Wildey won 35 in 1987-88.
School-record holder Mike Wolf won 42 matches in 1986-87.
“There’s definitely a lot at stake,” Blakeney said of NCAAs. “The winner gets a chance to go to the U.S. Open. We are definitely excited and pumped to see how far we can go.”
Blakeney, who has won 24 of 26 matches in the spring and has a 10-match win streak, says he is “95 percent sure” his tennis career will end at NCAAs.
The All-Big 12 selection at No. 3 singles he went 8-0 in league play could transfer and receive a scholarship at virtually any school in the country to play a final season.
“Right now, I don’t want to go anywhere else. I’ve gotten used to being in Lawrence. I’ve got a lot of friends here people I’m close to,” Blakeney said. “To move somewhere else would be a big adjustment for just one year of college.
“To me, it may not be worth it. Some people think I should give it a try and shouldn’t waste my talents sticking around here. I had such a good season I’ll take this as my senior year to go out on top.”
Blakeney will not play pro tennis.
“After I play in Athens, I’ll never play again. I’ll never touch another racket,” Blakeney said. “It’s just time to give it up. I’ll go all out in the tournament. It’s our last time playing. We’ll see how far we can go.”
Blakeney and Stroer, who are ranked 50th, take a three-match win streak into NCAAs.
“We communicate pretty well, probably better than any team in the conference or the country. Communication carries you a long way,” Blakeney said.
Echagaray and Magallan, who are ranked 31st, beat the nation’s Nos. 10 and 3-ranked teams at the Rolex Nationals on Feb. 2-3.
