BALTIMORE - The Loyola University Maryland men's tennis team had a successful and competitive 2017-2018 season with a 9-7 record. The Greyhounds had impressive and exciting wins against St. Bonaventure (4-3, Saint Francis Brooklyn (4-3) and Saint Peter's (5-2) along with Patriot League victories against Lafayette and Holy Cross.

Senior Blest Jones graduated from Loyola as the most decorated men's tennis player in the last 40 years. He holds the school's all-time record with 85 singles wins, eclipsing the mark of 66 set by John McConnell from 1999-2003. Jones became Loyola's first-ever All-Patriot League honoree in tennis, achieving second-team recognition in 2015-2016 when he topped McConnell (1999-2000) and Bobby Gorczakowski's (2009-10) mark of 23 singles wins in a season with 32 victories, earning him team Most Valuable Player honors for the second year in a row.

Junior co-captains Brian Hoffarth and C.J. Cash stabilized the Greyhounds lineup in both singles and doubles. Hoffarth advanced to the top singles spot and was very competitive while winning 12 matches with victories over Delaware, Johns Hopkins, Lafayette and Howard. He teamed with two-year partner Kyle Gower to win a team-high 20 victories, 8-3 against Patriot League competition, to secure many doubles points. They were finalists at the Patriot League Kickoff Tournament in the "B" flight with wins over Lehigh and Colgate, won the Bucknell Invitational "B" flight doubles consultation and had three singles and four doubles wins at the Villanova Invitational. Hoffarth is a member of Loyola's Dean's List while majoring in political science.

Cash competed at the No. 4 singles and No. 2 doubles with Reid Burch in his third season for the Greyhounds. He had two singles victories at the Loyola Fall Invitational and two wins with Burch in doubles before they reached the finals of the "A" doubles flight at the Patriot League Kickoff Tournament, defeating Lafayette and Colgate. Cash won three of four singles matches and four-straight doubles matches to start the spring season, helping Loyola to a 4-0 team record before a knee injury ended the pre-med Dean's List student's season.

Burch had an impressive four-year career in both singles and doubles for the Greyhounds, playing a solid No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles in the lineup. He earned 11 singles victories in his final campaign for a total of 51 along with 16 doubles wins to reach a total of 37 leading Loyola to 40 team wins in his career. Burch was a business major and earned Dean's List honors.

Gower, a sophomore Dean's List student as a business major, was named to the Academic All-Patriot League Men's Tennis Team with an outstanding 3.889 grade-point average in his second year and was voted the team's Most Valuable Player for his impressive accomplishments on the court. He led the Greyhounds in singles wins (24), went 4-2 against Patriot League opponents, the second most in a season on Loyola's all-time list. He won 12 matches in a row during the year. He also had the most doubles victories (22), 20 with Hoffarth, going 8-3 against Patriot League foes, for a two-year total of 24.

Sophomore Matt Fitzmaurice had an excellent season for the Greyhounds as he was voted the Most Dedicated Player by his peers after winning 15 singles matches, seven in a row and the second-most doubles contests (17) with partner Blest Jones at No. 1. He won three out of four singles and all four doubles matches at the Villanova Fall Invitational, along with winning three singles and three out of four doubles matches at the Loyola Fall Invitational. He finished the fall tournament season by winning the "C" flight consolation bracket at the Patriot League Kickoff Tournament in singles and three doubles matches with Jones at the Navy Invitational.

Freshman Charlie Shanker was an immediate positive addition for the Greyhound sin his first season, winning three singles matches to reach the "D" flight finals at the Bucknell Invitational in his initial collegiate tournament. He also won the "D" flight single title at the Mount St. Mary's and was a finalist in the same flight at the Patriot League Kickoff Tournament with wins over Lehigh and Colgate. Shanker tied for the second-most singles wins with 18.

Senior Jack Shortell had a strong finish to his Greyhound career with 10 singles and seven doubles wins while competing at No. 6 singles and NO. 2 doubles with classmate Reid Burch. He won three out of four singles and two doubles matches with partner Colin Kanuch at the Villanova Invitational and won the "D" flight singles consolation final with three victoris at the Patriot League Kickoff Tournament.

Kanuch, a junior, competed well for the Greyhounds during the fall tournament season. He won a round of singles at the Bucknell, Villanova, Patriot League Kickoff and Navy events. He then studied abroad in New Zealand in the spring semester.

Junior J.J. Good studied in Copenhagen during the fall 2017 season. He then won a singles and doubles match with Shanker against Coppin State to help the Greyhounds to a team victory. The accounting major and Dean's List student dealt with an ankle injury, as well, during the spring season that limited his play.

Three freshmen, Peter Kelley, Cooper Tomchik and Rodrigo Moreno, made positive contributions to the team in their first year at Loyola. Kelley won an impressive seven singles matches in his initial collegiate tennis season with two wins at the Villanova Invitational, along with three straight-set victories to win the round-robin at the Navy Invitational. He earned a 4.0 GPA during the spring semester and is on the Dean's List while majoring in business. Tomchik competed well in early fall tournament play, winning two singles and doubles matches with Kelley at the Villanova before an injury stymied his season. Moreno won two singles matches for a third-place finish, and he teamed with Shanker to win three doubles matches at the "C" flight of the Mount ST. Mary's Invitational. They also won two doubles matches at the Patriot League Kickoff Tournament over Lehigh and Colgate to reach the semifinals. Moreno is on the Dean's List while majoring in engineering.

The future looks bright for the tennis program with high hopes of continued success in the classroom and on the courts for the 2018-2019 year. The Greyhounds had a winning record and an impressive 3.386 team GPA, and with the returning players and incoming student-athletes, Loyola men's tennis is moving in a positive direction.