Certainly they were caught up in the moment of their 4-2 victory Sunday over No. 1 seed St. John's, repeating as conference champion and receiving the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
The scene was reminiscent of last year when coach Matt Brothers' team made program history as the first to win a BIG EAST crown. Only then, the laughter and revelry included fellow Blue Demon lifers Boris Spanjaard, Fran Tonejc, Chris Casati and Tamas Zador. All four super seniors used their extra year of COVID-19 eligibility to make a dream come true.
Tonejc, Wassenaar and Tuff may have glanced around at their new teammates---four freshmen and a junior---while marveling how quickly the new guys bonded and bought into the "Band of Brothers" concept.
Indeed, it was a rookie Marino Jakic who would send the graduating Tonejc, Wassenaar and Tuff out on a high note. With DePaul leading 3-2, the rookie from Toni Kukoc's home town of Split, Croatia defeated Carl Gustavsson 7-6, 6-3 at No. 2 singles.
That earned Jakic his first postseason award as the BIG EAST Men's Tennis Most Outstanding Player.
That was the finishing touch after the Jona Gitschel/Leon Huck and Tuff/Wassenaar tandems secured the doubles point for a 1-0 lead.
"We had to rebuild our team with Marino and all the young guys," Tuff said. "There were a lot of player-only meetings throughout the year with all the ups and downs.
"Vito, Luuk and I spent a lot of time showing the new guys what our goal was and how to get there."
They got there with three clutch singles wins. After St. John's (17-6) tied the match at 1-1 with a win at No. 4 singles, the "Band of Brothers" moved in front 2-1 with a victory from Tonejc at No. 1.
St. John's drew even at 2-2 after winning at No. 6, but freshmen Matteo Iaquinto at No. 5 and Jakic dashed any hopes of a Red Storm comeback.
"I never thought about being the clinching point," Jakic said. "I focused on doing my best to help the team and just playing my game.
"We went through a lot of ups and downs as a team, a lot of tough practices. After all that we went through, all the hard work has paid off.
"When I scored the final point, it was a really special moment. There are a lot of Europeans on the team and it just felt right to celebrate like that."
Tuff and Wassenaar appreciated the youth movement at Sheffield and Belden.
"It's special because of how quickly the young guys became a part of our winning culture," Wassenaar. "They learned so quickly, and by the end of the season, they were playing like seniors."
Tuff echoed that sentiment.
"The younger guys made some valuable contributions to this BIG EAST title," Tuff said. "We've officially welcomed them to the Band of Brothers."
On his way to joining the BIG EAST Digital Network live stream of the DePaul-Xavier women's tennis title match, a jubilant Matt Brothers reflected on what just took place.
"Two completely different teams," Brothers said. "Last year was all the older, experienced guys who made it through the pandemic together and then took full advantage of their second chance. This year is a completely different dynamic---back to development and getting guys better.
"We had the hunger in 2021 to do something that had never been done before. The younger guys this year saw all that which instilled a hunger within them.
"Last night, I had Vito, Luuk and Tripp talk to the younger guys about what they experienced here last year. Hearing it from them instead of just me really made an impact on them."
BIG EAST Final
DePaul 4, St. John's 2
April 24, 2022
(Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center)
Singles
1. Vito Tonejc (DPU) def. Axel Vila Antuna (SJU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Marino Jakic (DPU) def. Carl Gustavsson (SJU) 7-6, 6-3
3. Yaron Guberman (SJU) vs. Leon Huck (DPU) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished
4. Ignacio Garcia (SJU) def. Luuk Wassenaar (DPU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Matteo Iaquinto (DPU) def. Vlad Vasilache (SJU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Ryota Kaneda (SJU) def. Tripp Tuff (DPU) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
1. Axel Vila Antuna/Ignacio Garcia (SJU) def. Marino Jakic/Vito Tonejc (DPU) 6-3
2. Jona Gitschel/Leon Huck (DPU) def. Ryota Kaneda/Dylan Loru (SJU) 7-5
3. Tripp Tuff/Luuk Wassenaar (DPU) def. Carl Gustavsson/Vlad Vasilache (SJU) 6-2
Match Notes:
No. 2 DePaul 13-12
No 1. St. John's 17-6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,1,6,5,2)
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'Band of Brothers' Goes Back 2 Back - DePaul Blue Demons
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