Robbins captures NJCAA consolation championship

Robbins captures NJCAA consolation championship
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

PLANO, TX – Freshman Mark Robbins completed his two-day gauntlet en route to winning the No. 5 singles consolation championship with an 8-5 win over Dalton Hendrix (Spartanburg) on Friday.

Coming off an impressive showing at the MACJC and NJCAA Region 23 Tournament where he won the No. 5 singles titles, his first collegiate championships, Robbins battled through a muggy Thursday afternoon in Texas to pick up back-to-back wins over Victor Galvoa (Seward) and Dave Romeo (New Mexico Military) to advance to Friday's championship match.

Rain forced the final day of tournament play indoors, but it did not slow down the New Albany native.

Leading 3-1, Hendrix rallied to make it a 3-2 contest before Robbins rattled off back-to-back games to take a 5-2 advantage in the pro-set format.

"I thought Mark did a great job controlling the tempo early in the match," said Coach Paul Johnson. "He kind of got away from his game midway through the match, but you have to give his opponent credit for changing the tempo to get a few breaks and get back in the match."

After a brief swing in momentum, Hendrix climbed back into the match, 7-5, but could not overcome the three-game deficit as Robbins regained his rhythm and closed out the match with ease.

"This is a big win for Mark," said Johnson. "Hopefully he'll be able to build on this win and come back for an even bigger sophomore season. I'm really proud of the way he played and handled this type of environment. It was fun to see him really grow as a player and evolve his game this week."

The Indians finished 13th in the tournament. The Top 15 finish ties the program's best finish in the NJCAA Tournament. 

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