The Colorado College men's and women's tennis teams are heading to Kerrville, Texas, this weekend for the 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by Schreiner University.
 
Due to COVID-19 issues the last two years, this will be the first SCAC Tournament for the Tigers since 2019.
 
Both teams are seeded third and will face sixth-seeded Austin College in the quarterfinals on Friday, April 29. The women start things off at 8 a.m. (MT), followed by the men's match at 1 p.m. (MT).
 
"We are excited to go to our first conference tournament since 2019," head coach Anthony Weber said. "We only have three players combined who have played a tournament match. We had high expectations and set lofty goals this season, and have exceeded them all. Both teams have been tested on the road and there isn't much we haven't seen at this point.  This is why we're the No. 3 seed in a tough conference, and looking forward to the challenge this weekend."
 
The men's team enters the tournament with an 11-9 record, the most wins in one season since the 2005-06 campaign. The Tigers went 2-1 in league play, defeating Schreiner University (8-1) and Austin College (9-0), and losing to the tournament's No. 1-seed Trinity University (9-0).
 
The squad is full of underclassmen, with the six singles spots occupied by three freshmen, two sophomores and one senior for the majority of the campaign. CC posted an 8-2 record against Division III schools, including a perfect 5-0 mark on its annual spring break trip in Orlando, Fla.
 
"The men's team played six matches against Division II teams this year, and made it through the spring break gauntlet by beating three regionally ranked teams," Weber added. 
 
Senior Alex Kley, sophomore Andrew Kaelin and freshmen Lucas Pastor and Nate Beerman all posted a team-high 12 singles wins during the regular season. In doubles, Beerman and senior Jacob Adas are 10-3 this season, all coming at the No. 3 position. Meanwhile, Kley and Pastor have a 7-6 doubles record, including a 7-5 mark at the No. 2 spot.
 
The women's team just as young as the men's, if not more so. Three sophomores and three freshmen played the majority of the singles matches during a 9-11 season.
 
Freshman Christina Heffron tied for the team lead with 11 singles victories, all of them coming at the No. 1 position. Fellow freshman Maddy Meister and sophomore Gigi Jensen also posted 11 singles wins during the season.
 
Jensen and sophomore Malia Rivera went 6-4 at No. 2 doubles, while Heffron and sophomore Elizabeth Girian were 6-3 at No. 2.
 
The team wrapped up the regular season with a three-match winning streak, the longest since the 2017-18 campaign.  
 
"Our women played some really tough teams this season," Weber said. "We battled Division I New Mexico along with nationally-ranked Division II and III programs, and we won some big matches." 
 
Each team has advanced to one SCAC final since joining the league in 2007. The men lost to Trinity, 9-0, in 2013, while the women fell to Trinity, 5-1, in 2015.