MOVING TO THE SUMMIT SERIES

July 10	Basketball (Women)
July 17	Basketball (Men)
July 24	Golf
July 31	Soccer
Aug. 7	Volleyball
Aug. 14	Tennis
Aug. 21	Track & Field/Cross Country
Aug. 28	Softball

The University of North Dakota will compete in The Summit League for all of its varsity sports (except hockey and football) beginning this season. The staff at FightingHawks.com will put together a sport-by-sport breakdown of what to expect, who the major players are, and some history and stats to know as UND makes the transition. This eight-part weekly series looks at tennis this week with a look at the track and field programs next week.

A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON
On July 1, the University of North Dakota officially joined The Summit League for all of its varsity sports (except for football and hockey). The Summit League moved its offices from the Chicago suburbs to Sioux Falls, S.D., this summer and is in its 37th season, starting as the Association of Mid-Continent Universities (AMCU) in 1982 before rebranding as the Mid-Continent Conference in 1989. In 2007, the conference changed its name to The Summit League. 

HOW MANY SCHOOLS IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE?
There are seven schools that sponsor men's tennis in The Summit League. North Dakota, Denver, Omaha and Oral Roberts are all full members with Drake, Valparaiso and Illinois State all as affiliate members. South Dakota State dropped its team following last season.

WHO HAVE BEEN THE RECENT SUMMIT MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONS?
Drake, an associate member in its first season in The Summit League for tennis, claimed the 2018 regular season and tournament titles, ending Denver's stranglehold on the top spot. DU had won four straight regular season and tournament championships (2014-17). Prior to that, former member Kansas City took home three consecutive tourney titles (2011-13). 
 
            Reg seas.    Tournament
2018    Drake          Drake
2017    Denver        Denver
2016    Denver        Denver
2015    Denver        Denver
2014    Denver        Denver
2013    UMKC*        UMKC*
2012    3-way tie     UMKC*        
2011    UMKC*        UMKC*
*No longer in SL    

HOW MANY SCHOOLS IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE?
There are six schools that sponsor women's tennis in The Summit League. Of the nine full members in the league, all but North Dakota State, Purdue Fort Wayne (dropped after 2014-15) and South Dakota State (dropped after 2017-18) sponsor women's tennis. 

WHO HAVE BEEN THE RECENT SUMMIT WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONS?
Since joining The Summit League in women's tennis, Denver has dominated with five consecutive regular season and tournament titles. The Pioneers haven't lost a conference match since joining the conference (29-0). Purdue Ft. Wayne won three of four before the Denver run and was a runner-up in 2015 before discontinuing the sport. 
 
            Reg seas.    Tournament
2018    Denver        Denver
2017    Denver        Denver
2016    Denver        Denver
2015    Denver        Denver
2014    Denver        Denver
2013    IPFW*          IPFW*
2012    Oral Rob.     Oral Rob.
2011    IPFW*          IPFW*
*No longer in SL for tennis

OH, TO BE 29 AGAIN
Denver's 29-match conference winning streak is the fourth-longest streak in The Summit League women's tennis history. The record is held by Oral Roberts' run of 35 consecutive from 1999-2003. 

HOW'D WE DO?
UND went 2-1 against Summit League schools last season on the women's side while the men's team was 1-1 against teams from its new conference.