The Cougars figured they were in for a tough match in the MCC tournament final against Grace and that is exactly how it turned out. SAU's talented #1 doubles team of Thomas Calderone and Aaron Mayes suffered its first loss of the year but a strong effort at the #2 (David Darling and Rafael Schuster) and #3 doubles (Nathan Scholten and Matt Wojtkowski) positions gave SAU a 2-1 lead going into singles action. Quick and decisive wins at #5 singles (Andrew DeBruyn-6-1, 6-3) and Nathan Scholten (6-2, 6-3) and losses at the #3 and #4 singles positions set up the exciting conclusion of the match with the home team clinging to a 4-3 lead. David Darling and Thomas Calderone both won their first sets at the #1 and #2 singles spots respectively but on both courts the SAU players were playing from behind in the second set. Darling finally broke serve at 4-5 in the second set to stay alive and then won 7-3 in a tiebreaker to seal the MCC tournament victory for the Spring Arbor squad.

The victory assures the Cougars a spot in the NAIA national tournament next May in Mobile, AL. Though the Cougars have qualified for the NCCAA national tournament in 3 out the past 4 years, this is their first trip to NAIA nationals since 1997.

The Cougars finished their 11-0 fall season with some noteworthy performances. David Darling went undefeated in conference play at the #1 singles position. Aaron Mayes had just one loss at the #3 singles spot, as did Andrew DeBruyn at the #5 singles position. In doubles, the Cougars were even more dominant. Overall, the Cougars won 30 out of the 33 possible doubles points in their 11 matches during the tough MCC schedule with each of the three doubles teams losing only one match during this special season.

Final Score:

Season Record: MCC 11-0 Overall 11-0