They just needed a little more 'show' to get to the show.
 
After finally culminating 14 years of work to reach its first-ever berth in the United States Tennis Association Tennis On Campus National Championships a year ago, the dream to reach the tournament in back-to-back seasons fell just one spot short as the Grand Canyon University Club Tennis team finished 3^rd in the Gold Flight of the USTA Southwest Sectional Tournament in El Paso, Texas. The Lopes finished just behind national tournament qualifiers Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University. Meanwhile, the Lopes' 'B' team not only reached the Silver Bracket but won it during the Texas trip.
 
The Lopes' 'A' squad certainly seemed poised for a nationals repeat after Saturday's pool play action, knocking off Northern Arizona University's (26-20) and University of Texas-El Paso's (25-20) 'A' teams by nearly identical margins, with a 30-9 whitewash of University of New Mexico's 'B' squad sandwiched in between. That sent them to the "make-or-break" matchup right off the bat Sunday morning in the rematch of last year's championship match against ASU's 'A' team. The Lopes and Sun Devils battled throughout, but once again, the Lopes' effort came up short, 27-21. That sent GCU to the third-place match, which they handled emphatically with a 26-19 victory in a rematch with NAU 'A'.
 
Meanwhile, the Lopes' 'B' team had the same problem as their 'A' team counterparts: the Sun Devils' 'A' team. The Lopes met the Devils to end pool play (after dispatching both New Mexico 'A' and the University of Arizona's 'B' team by strong margins), and ASU's 26-16 win dropped the Lopes to the Silver Bracket. From there, GCU B outlasted ASU's 'B' squad in a close match, 26-23, to reach the Silver Flight title match, and took care of UNM 'A' one more time, 27-18, to win the flight and finish 5^th overall.
 
"After the pool play results came in and we saw the other three teams, we felt like if we drew ASU 'A', that would be the toughest challenge," said Lopes' Head Coach Ed Prudhomme. "We gave it everything we had and just couldn't get it done. If we had won one more game or lost one less game, our winning percentage would have been better, and we would have drawn NAU A. We probably would have beaten them like we eventually did in the 3rd place match and qualified for nationals. We had a great season and tournament, and now we get ready for next year."
 
The Lopes' final matches of the season will send them to Flagstaff in the first week of April for the NAU Easter Tournament.