The Pratt Community College (PCC) tennis team wrapped up their regular season ranked #10 in the nation and with an 8-7 overall record. Over the course of the season, the Beavers defeated then ranked #10 Jacksonville College (8-1), #9 Iowa Central (5-4), Southwestern New Mexico University (6-1) and Oklahoma Wesleyan (5-2).  

On the weekend, of April 30-May 1, the team hosted the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region VI Championships at Maize South High School. Over two days of competition, the Beavers faced tough opponents from conference rivals Barton County (ranked #6), Cowley (ranked #1) and Seward County (ranked #2). The team finished fourth overall at regionals.

"When I started at Pratt a year ago my initial thought was wow I would really love to just have a full team," said Head Coach Jeret Johnson. "As the season went along we continued to want more and more…the guys have been working hard and are hungry to go and compete."

This past Monday, May 9 the tennis team received an invitation to the NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships being held in Tyler, TX. The tournament kicks off Monday, May 16 and will run through Friday, May 20. The tournament is formatted as double elimination with athletes who lose on day one having an opportunity to play through the back side of the bracket.

The tournament lineup for the Beavers is as follows:

            Singles #1- Dante Despontin

            Singles #2- David Arrieta

            Singles #3- Vitor Goncalves

            Singles #4- Maxime Guyon

            Singles #5- Oleksandr Makarov

            Singles #6- Vinicius Costa

            Doubles #1- Dante Despontin, David Arrieta

            Doubles #2- Vitor Goncalves, Oleksandr Makarov

            Doubles #3- Auron Hoyer, Nathaniel Moore

"Ultimately the expectation for everyone is they want to go and finish top ten," said Coach Johnson. "I told the guys if we go and do the little things right it will lead to winning more matches."