CIPULLI/NORTJE headED TO ITA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FLORIDA
CIPULLI TO HAVE #1 SEED

October 13, 2004

Dante Cipulli

BOLIVAR, MO. ... Trying to make history again at Southwest Baptist University, the men’s tennis team will compete for the third straight year in the ITA National Championships at Fort Myers, Florida. SBU will compete for their second national championship in three years.

Leading the way for the Bearcats will be senior Dante Cipulli (Tucuman, Argentina). He was given the #1 seed for the NCAA Division II ITA National Championship tournament and finished as the national runner-up last year in Houston, Texas. He advanced to the national tournament when he defeated Rchlik (Colorado School of Mines), 6-0, 1-0, ret. Earlier in the day, he beat W.Jacome (Northern Kentucky) 6-0, 6-4. This last weekend, he competed at the Arkansas Razorback Invitatoina and is coming off a clean sweep where he won the singles tournament. He went 5-0 and defeated all NCAA Divsion I tennis players. In the finals, he defeated Bohunicky (Oklahoma State), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to take the title.

Last year, he finished the spring season as the #2 player in the nation for NCAA Division II. The Bearcats

Johan Nortje

finished the 2003 season as the MIAA Champions, North Central Regional Champions, and an Elight Eight berth. They fell to the eventual national champion the University of West Florida.

Last year in the ITA NCAA Division II finals, he fell to Rob Steckley from Lander University, 6-3, 6-2, to finish as the national runner-up. In the first round, he defeated Brian Swatt (UC-San Diego), 6-1, 6-3, and then advanced to the national championship with a 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 win over Guillaume deVerbizier (West Florida).

Cipulli is a two-time ITA all-American, the 2003 MIAA MVP, all-MIAA First-Team, and received the MIAA “Player of the Week" twice.

The last time SBU had an ITA Singles National Champion was Michael Obertop in 1993.

Johan Nortje will be making his first appearance in the ITA NCAA Division II National Championships in the doubles tournament. He will team up with teammate Dante Cipulli. SBU has been at the ITA National Championships in doubles the past three years. In 2002, Mark Eori and Andras Bori won the national championship and the last year they finished in third place.

To get to the national tournament, Nortje/Cipulli defeated Ramos/Jacome (Northern Kentucky), 8-5. Nortje/Cipulli finished the 2004 spring season ranked #22 in the nation and were all-MIAA First-Team at #2 doubles.