Loyola men’s tennis has just one more tournament this fall before their official season commences in the spring. The team cannot wait to make noise in conference play in hopes of a bounce-back season.
The team has competed in four tournaments over the past month, most recently the Gold Invitational hosted by Navy and the ITA Regional Championships in Blacksburg, Virginia, both of which spanned from Oct. 9 to 13. Their last tournament of the fall is the ITA Conference Masters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from Oct. 24 to 26.
At the ITA Regional Championships, Blake Edwards ’28 secured a victory in the Round of 64 singles competition, defeating Norfolk State University’s Luka Cvjetkovic with scores of 6-3 and 6-1. Edwards and Louis Moldenhauer ’29 won a doubles match in the Round of 64 against Marcus Weekes and Kaosie Nwokedi from Howard University. The Round of 32 games that followed both of those victories resulted in a loss.
At the Gold Invitational, all Loyola competitors played three matches. Seven Loyola athletes out of the 11 who participated won at least two of their three matches. Dylan Coonerty ’29, Cyrus Shivkumar ’29, Alejandro Rotundo ’27, Dylan Koziol ’26, and Trevor Girandola ’26 won two matches; Petter Hagen ’29 and Noah Castillo ’28 won all three of their matches.
Head Coach Josh Eventoff is optimistic about his younger athletes and the outcome of routinely integrating them into lineups throughout the course of the season.
“We have five new players on our men’s squad, and so, you know, with each quality practice that we have and each opportunity to bond as a team when we travel and play tournaments and battle together, everybody gets closer, and the team gets more confident… It’s a process and it’s coming together,” Eventoff said.
Eventoff further discussed how in team practices, each player continues to challenge one another to help improve the entire team.
“[This team is] so supportive of each other. We’ve had a couple of veterans, [they] were doing great, but then they’re feeling the wrath of some of these young, incredible players. So, the team is just gelling, and we’re hitting strides,” Eventoff said.
The next tournament for the Greyhounds is the ITA Conference Masters. After that, the team will prepare for their head-to-head matches, starting with a visit to Swarthmore on Feb. 28, 2026. Eventoff is eager to show off what Loyola men’s tennis has got this year after last year’s injury-plagued season took the team out of competitive form.
“My top three or four guys had to come out at like the last month of the season because of injury. And, so, we had to get into our Patriot League matches and then the whole tournament with guys that were unhealthy. It happens to a lot of teams… so this year, I just cannot wait to face some of these opponents again and show them what we have,” Eventoff said.
Eventhoff is thrilled with the level of camaraderie and team spirit at the moment, stating that it is at an all-time high right now. It is critical that the athletes are still motivated and working hard in this portion of their season, which is more of their offseason, according to the head coach.
With the incorporation of varied activities and intrateam competition in team practices, the coaching staff of Head Coach Eventoff and Assistant Coach Olivia Tracey ‘24 continues to elevate their standards and expectations for their skilled players, maintaining a high level of competitiveness between the players in training.
“It’s a matter of [either] we hold an invitational tournament, or we make sure we get as many events as we can to keep these guys motivated. I do my best to keep the squad competitive within each other, so we’ll have green and grey, dual matches where we’ll pick teams, and we’ll compete like a college match on a certain day. It’s fun team bonding, but it’s also very competitive,” Eventoff said.
With the help of Eventoff’s CrossFit background, more road work conditioning and boot camp style workouts have been implemented within training as opposed to just hitting tennis balls all day. Eventoff also gave great praise to Assistant Coach Tracey, who was one of the winningest players on the women’s team during her time at Loyola from 2020 to 2024. She played No. 1 in singles for three out of her four collegiate years, and Eventoff says that she continues to be a super high-level player.
“We’re thrilled to have her coaching because she brings so much knowledge and experience to the team. And as she graduates players, it’s a great chance for her to really put her stamp on the team because a lot of these players weren’t on the team with her until now… I feel like she’s really coming into her own as a coach,” Eventoff said.
Eventoff continued to show his high enthusiasm for this year’s team, showing how much faith and confidence he has in the athletes.
“I feel like we are in a great place with our team captains. And I couldn’t be happier with this team. I mean, I’m just, like I said, I just cannot wait to compete, you know? We’re going to be so good. We’re going to be a lot better than last year,” Eventoff said.
The Greyhounds men’s tennis schedule consists of Division I to III competition, with six out of their 14 spring matches coming from the Patriot League. Their first Patriot League match is on Mar. 21, 2026, against Bucknell at home.
With the recent positive tournament performance, the continuation and elevation of team training, and the camaraderie of the athletes, Loyola men’s tennis looks to tackle their season head on with win after win.
“We just need to just keep grinding and keep working so hard, we’re training harder than we’ve trained in the past, bottom line. I just can’t wait to see our team compete as a whole, not just individually. I just cannot wait to unveil this team to some of these other teams,” Eventoff said.
Keep up with Loyola Men’s Tennis at their Instagram as they head to their next tournament in Pennsylvania from Oct. 24 to 26, the ITA Conference Masters.