The Phoenix claimed a 4-0 victory over No. 2 seed Valparaiso in the Horizon League Championship final on Sunday at Purdue University.

Green Bay claimed the momentum early by winning the doubles point. The No. 3 team of junior Leopold Gomez Islinger (Weiden, Germany) and senior Michael Tebon (Excelsior, Minn.) won 6-2, and was followed by the No. 2 team of juniors Howard Scott (Exeter, England) and Joey Leto (Downers Grove, Ill.) claiming a 7-5 victory and the doubles point for Green Bay.

“This was a tough match, we were fortunate to get the doubles point and I think it really energized us,” said head coach Mark Thomas.

With a 1-0 match lead, the Phoenix captured the first set in five of six singles matches to put the pressure on the Crusaders. Leto was the first Green Bay singles player to claim his match, winning a tiebreaker in the second set (7-4) at No. 6 singles to give the Phoenix a 2-0 lead.

After falling behind 0-3 in his first set, Scott bounced back to claim set one 6-4 at No. 3 singles. Scott ended his match with a 6-4 win in set two and pushed Valparaiso to the brink.

A familiar situation unfolded, with the Phoenix up 3-0 and looking to clinch, Gomez Islinger was pushing toward victory at No. 2 singles. The Green Bay junior claimed his first set 6-4, and with all eyes on his match, Gomez Islinger closed out a second-set tiebreak 7-3 for a match victory that sent his team back to the NCAA Tournament. It was the second day in a row the Germany-native clinched a match for the Phoenix.

“Leo is one of the most competitive guys I know,” said Thomas. “If we're at 3-0, that's who I want on the court.”

“I actually love that situation,” said Gomez Islinger. “I wasn't tight at all, I just tried to stay relaxed and enjoy the moment and try to make the best of it.”

“These guys, all year, have just battled and battled and battled,” Thomas added. “That helped us today when we needed them to come up in the clutch.”

This is the second consecutive Horizon League Championship title for Green Bay. The Phoenix will learn its NCAA fate when selections are announced on Tuesday, April 28 at 4:30 p.m. on http://www.ncaa.com.

(1)Green Bay 4 – (2)Valparaiso 0

Singles

No. 1 Michael Tenzer (GB) vs. Jeffrey Schorsch (VALPO) 6-3, 3-6, 1-2 (DNF)

No. 2 Leopold Gomez Islinger (GB) def. Dave Bacalla (VALPO) 6-4, 7-6(3)

No. 3 Howard Scott (GB) def. Garrett Gardner (VALPO) 6-4, 6-4

No. 4 Florian Kraenzler (GB) vs. Charlie Emhardt (VALPO) 6-7, 6-4, 0-0 (DNF)

No. 5 Joshua Schramm (GB) vs. Kyle Dunn (VALPO) 6-1, 2-6, 1-1 (DNF)

No. 6 Joey Leto (GB) def. Lucas Waak (VALPO) 6-1, 7-6(4)

Doubles

No. 1 Jeffrey Schorsch/Charlie Emhardt (VALPO) def. Michael Tenzer/Florian Kraenzler (GB) 6-3

No. 2 Howard Scott/Joey Leto (GB) def. Dave Bacalla/Chase Hamilton (VALPO) 7-5

No. 3 Leopold Gomez Islinger/Michael Tebon (GB) def. Lucas Waak/Garrett Gardner (VALPO) 6-2

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