Garcia, a senior, won the Flight A singles title and, with Demetrius Johnson, took third in Flight A doubles at the 2012 Iowa Conference Men’s Tennis Individual Tournament. After completing only his first-round singles match Friday due to inclement weather, Garcia won four singles matches Saturday and captured the crown with an 8-1 win over Coe’s Riley Galbraith in the championship match. He and Johnson went 3-1 in the Flight A doubles draw, which was contested almost entirely on Saturday as well, posting 8-3 victories in their first two matches before falling to Luther’s Ramesh Karki and Quinn Foley, 8-4, in the semifinals. Garcia and Johnson received a walkover against Luther’s Nick Mozena and James Ayer in the third-place match.
Garcia's win gave Dubuque its first top-flight IIAC singles champion since Jeff Benson went back-to-back in 1979 and 1980. He also became the first Flight A/No. 1 singles champion since 1998 (Spencer Cox, Central) to represent a school other than Coe or Luther. A four-time Flight A semifinalist, Garcia was second in both the spring and fall tournaments in 2010 and was fourth a year ago. The third-place doubles finish was the second in as many years for Garcia and Johnson. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)
