KANSAS CITY - Drury's lone senior, Jorge Nadal, posted a three-set victory in the decisive match to give the Panthers a 5-4 victory over Indianapolis and a repeat as Great Lakes Valley Conference men's tennis champions here on Sunday at the Plaza Tennis Center.

The 15th-ranked Panthers improved to 21-1 on the year in winning their seventh overall men's title (and third in the last four years) since joining the GLVC in 2005-06. It put a happy ending on a bittersweet day for the program, as the DU women fell 5-2 in their GLVC title match, also in KC. Drury also became the first GLVC men's tennis team to repeat as champions since the Panthers won three straight from 2006-08.

Coach Jarrod Smith's Panthers started the day with victories at No. 2 doubles from Sebastien Amato and Christian Ibsen and at No. 1 from Maximilian Hepp and Jorge Nadal, then watched the 24th-ranked Greyhounds (14-4) - down 3-1 after a victory by Hepp at No. 1 to open singles - rally to take it down to the wire.

Drury led 4-2 in the "first to five" competition after Sacha Mourier's 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 5 singles, but the Greyhounds came back with victories at Nos. 3 and 4 to tie the match at 4.

That left it up to Nadal - now 21-0 in singles on the year - who answered the pressure as anticipated by defeating Fausto Cordova 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 for the championship in the matchup that likely carried big NCAA-II regional hosting implications, with the Panthers ranked No. 1 and UIndy No. 2 in the latest Midwest Region ratings.

"The great part about this team is that we don't have to rely on points from the same players in every match," said Smith, named the GLVC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year on Thursday. "Everyone has contributed and won vital points throughout the (GLVC) championship tournament. Today was exactly how you would dream about a championship being played, tied 4-4 and won in a third set. It doesn't get much closer than that.

"I know this is a day Jorge Nadal will always treasure, knowing that in his senior year he won the final point to seal the championship. He played big in doubles today and won the final singles point ... this is an excellent sunset to the end of his playing days at Drury."

The Panthers will now await their NCAA destination and plans when brackets are announced on Tuesday, April 28 at 8:30 p.m. at www.ncaa.com.

Drury vs. UIndy Results