The Colorado College men's and women's tennis teams are heading to Georgetown, Texas, this weekend for the 2023 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by Southwestern University.
 
Both teams are seeded third for the second consecutive year and will face sixth-seeded Texas Lutheran University in the quarterfinals on Thursday, April 27. The men start things off at 12 p.m. (MT), followed by the women's match at 2:30 p.m. (MT).
 
"We have dealt with quite a bit adversity this season," head coach Anthony Weber said. "We started off the spring with the passing of teammate Jack Madison, have had some difficult road trips, dealt with numerous injuries and played a very challenging schedule. Through it all, our spirits are high heading into a big test of a weekend."
 
The men's team enters the tournament with a 7-11 overall record after defeating 36^th-ranked Chapman University, 5-4, in the regular-season finale last Sunday. The Tigers went 3-1 in league play, defeating St. Thomas University (7-2), Texas Lutheran (8-1) and Austin College (9-0), and losing to the tournament's No. 1-seed Southwestern University (7-2).
 
The singles lineup is void of a senior this season, with the six singles spots occupied by three juniors and three sophomores for the majority of the campaign. CC posted an 7-4 record against Division III schools.
 
"The men's team has built some momentum in the last few weeks, and have started to play a little stronger in doubles," Weber said. "Our guys are very competitive in singles, and are willing to stay out there all day if need be. With the win at Chapman, we proved that we can win a close match and compete with some of the better teams in the country." 
 
Junior Andrew Kaelin leads the Tigers with 12 singles wins this season , with four coming at each the Nos. 5 a 6 spots. Fellow junior Lucas Pastor follows with 11 victories, including a 10-5 mark at No. 2. In doubles, senior Nick Bishop and junior August Knox pace the squad with six wins, followed by Kaelin and sophomore Nate Beerman and Pastor and sophomore Aiden Little with five. Pastor and Little are 5-2, all coming at the No. 3 position.
 
The women's team, which finished the regular season with a 5-12 record, also enters the conference tournament without a senior in the top six singles spots. Sophomore Christina Heffron returned to the lineup at the No. 1 spot last weekend and is 5-5 at that position.
 
Four Tigers, juniors Magdalene Gonzales and Malia Rivera, sophomore Maddy Meister and freshman Lindsay Popeo, tied for the team lead with six singles victories. Junior Gigi Jensen also posted five wins.
 
Weber used 18 different doubles combinations throughout the regular season. Gonzales and Meister won three matches at the No. 1 position, while Heffron and Jensen won three at No. 2.
 
The team was 3-1 in league play, defeating St. Thomas University, Texas Lutheran and Austin College, all by a 9-0 score, and losing to the tournament's No. 2-seed Southwestern University (9-0).
 
"Our women haven't had a full lineup since mid-March, but will be healthy enough to play at a high level this weekend," Weber added. "When we were at full strength, the women nearly took down nationally-ranked Linfield on its home courts. We are looking for a return to that performance in this final run."

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.