They're in the NCAA Tournament. With EKU budget cuts, it'll likely be the team's last hurrah.

On April 6, Eastern Kentucky University voted to eliminate its men's and women's tennis programs as part of university-wide budget cuts to help address a $25 million shortfall.

On April 22, the women's team completed an undefeated season in the Ohio Valley Conference with a down-to-the-wire 4-3 finish against Austin Peay in the finals of the OVC Tournament, earning the program's fourth berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The last month has been eventful for the Colonels, to say the least.

"It was really a mix of different emotions," Kristina Lagoda, a sophomore from Russia, said of the roller coaster the program's been on. "After we got note that the program was cut we were more motivated to prove that we are worth it. ... But it was pretty tough. Every match we played, we knew it was getting to the end."

They adopted a mantra — "We are valid" — and didn't let the ax hanging over their heads keep them from getting the job done. Coach Rob Oertel, who has led the program for 17 years, couldn't believe their resolve.

"It’s amazing that it didn’t break them," Oertel said. "As emotional as players can be at this age, they held so strong through it and actually used it as incentive. I told ’em, if this goes down like it’s looking, you’ve got to help your marketability as much as you can anyway and I’ve got to help mine, so let’s go out on top."

'A jewel'

Oertel, a seven-time OVC Coach of the Year winner (four with the men's team, three with the women), came to EKU in 2002 after four seasons at the University of Denver, a Division II program that transitioned to Division I on his watch. Before that, he spent seven years at Indiana State, which had reduced its head coaching job to graduate-assistant status when Oertel took the helm at age 24.

His first collegiate head coaching job was at Wisconsin-Stout, where as a player he earned All-American status and played on four conference championship squads. The Wisconsin native fell in love with the game as a kid, but it was in college that he realized he wanted to coach.

"I'm part of the boom back in the '70s. It was in the parks. It wasn’t just a country club sport," Oertel said. "There was a big boom and you didn’t need to be wealthy to play a good level of tennis back then. … If it was any other decade I was raised my dad wouldn’t have been able to afford to pay for a country club membership."

Oertel became familiar with central Kentucky while at Indiana State, when he would bring the Sycamores down to the University of Kentucky's fall invitational. When Tom Higgins, who was with EKU for 28 years, stepped down, Oertel jumped at the opportunity to come to the Bluegrass State. His teams have combined for eight NCAA tournament trips, all coming since 2009.

EKU last week learned its first-round destination during a watch party atop the viewing platform of the Greg Adams Tennis Complex, an indoor facility built in 1977 that in the last two tears received a new roof, lights and court surface. Oertel described it as one of the best facilities in the nation, especially at the mid-major level.

In addition to EKU's teams, it's available for use by other students and paying members of the community. A rally was held recently in support of retaining the facility; the university has not publicly addressed what will happen with the complex.

"This is a jewel that I just hope doesn't go away," Oertel said.

'The clock is ticking'

The Colonels will travel to Atlanta, where they'll take on national No. 4 seed Georgia Tech on Friday.

They wanted to go to Pepperdine — if you're going to make your last trip to the NCAAs, where better to do it than Malibu? — but are happy to still be playing. However long the experience lasts, it will end not just their season, but an era.

Five women will have eligibility after this season: Alexandra Belle, Lisa Friess, Margaux Lacroix, Viktorija Demcenkova and Lagoda. All five, along with their three senior teammates, are international students. Between the men's and women's teams only one athlete — Colin Hart, an outgoing senior and former Lincoln County star — is a U.S. native. That factor makes it an easy cut for athletic departments under financial duress, Oertel said.

"It’s the path of least resistance," he said. "The players are overseas. Yea, they can write emails with their dissatisfaction but, are they knocking on the door of the AD’s office? Are they knocking on the door of the newspaper? No. They’re overseas."

Oertel and the women with remaining eligibility are still trying to save that half of EKU tennis. Men's tennis is on the decline nationally, Oertel said, but that's not true of the women's game. He and his players are continuing to reach out to EKU leadership and community members to find a way to secure funding and keep the program afloat.

"Is there a less than a one percent chance? Probably, but it can get done," Oertel said. "This program is a very important part of the fabric of college tennis, especially at the mid-major level. So, I can’t tell you the number of coaches and administrators that called me when this happened 'cause they just know it shouldn’t happen. It didn't need to happen. ...

"The clock is ticking. There’s five girls with eligibility that have got to find a place to go."

Three days after learning their NCAA destination, two of EKU's women's players took an unofficial visit to Coastal Carolina. All of the players were given an opportunity to continue their studies on scholarship at EKU, but most wish to continue their tennis careers. That means parting ways — at this time of year it's uncommon for Division I programs to have one scholarship open, let alone multiple — much sooner than they ever anticipated.

"With every match, we know it’s getting to the end," Lagoda said. "It was tough to play and realize we’re almost done. Especially when we had our last home match, that was I guess the toughest one. Lots of people came and we won. We were happy but we were crying our eyes out. …

"People who are not athletes, people who come to see us, they used to come to every single match of ours. It’s tough for them too because tennis has a history here, and it’s sad to know that it’s done."

This story was originally published May 8, 2018 at 10:55 AM with the headline "They're in the NCAA Tournament. With EKU budget cuts, it'll likely be the team's last hurrah.."