For the fourth-straight year and fifth time in the last six years, the Franciscan University men's tennis team will extend its season and travel to the NCAA Tournament. This year, the Barons head to Case Western Reserve to take on Grove City in the first round on Friday, May 13 at 11:00 a.m.
The Barons earned their spot in the NCAA Tournament after winning the AMCC conference tournament for the fourth-straight year. FUS finished a perfect 6-0 in conference play and earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. After sweeping Pitt.-Greensburg 5-0 in the first round, freshman Richard Watson sealed the 5-0 win at No. 6 singles to give the Barons the AMCC title over Penn St. Behrend and the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament.
The Barons enter the tournament 11-9 on the year and earned 10 spots on the AMCC All-Conference teams, including all three first team doubles pairings and four first team singles honors.
Franciscan and the Wolverines squared off during the fall portion of the season with Grove City winning by a narrow 5-4 margin in late September.
The winner of the Franciscan/Grove City match will move on to play host Case Western Reserve on Saturday. In the late match on Friday, Kalamazoo and Messiah square off with the winner advancing to the second round against Kenyon.
The Barons enter the tournament winning three of their last four matches, including a 9-0 win over Westminster (Pa.) to close out the regular season.
Grove City enters the tournament with a 9-8 overall record after winning the Presidents' Athletic Conference and earning the PAC's automatic bid. The Wolverines won their last two matches, including the PAC tournament, after having a seven-match winning streak snapped by Allegheny.