GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah men's tennis team travels to Owings Mills, Md. to take on the top-seeded Stevenson University Mustangs Saturday in the MAC Commonwealth Championship match after defeating Lebanon Valley 5-2 in the semifinals.
The Falcons take on the Mustangs on Saturday beginning at 1:00 p.m.
See below for a quick preview of the MAC Commonwealth Championship against Stevenson:
No. 2 Messiah University Falcons – 7-3 overall, 4-1 conference
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The Falcons fought hard to claim a 5-2 victory over the Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen Wednesday afternoon in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals.
Messiah claimed two of the three doubles matches, including a tie breaking thriller on court two.
Jarod Snader and
Jonathan Baker were taking on Jeffrey Bauer and William Harriger. With the score tied 5-5 in the tiebreaker, Snader and Baker claimed the final two points in exciting fashion. Messiah would slam the door on the Dutchmen in singles, winning three of four matches to claim the match.
Messiah will go into their match with Stevenson Saturday afternoon on a two-match winning streak. However, the Mustangs beat the Falcons 8-1 back on Apr. 17 to help them clinch the top spot in the MAC Commonwealth tournament.
No. 1 Stevenson University Mustangs – 7-2 overall, 5-0 conference
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Roster |
Stats
The Mustangs come into the finals riding a four-match winning streak, including a 5-0 sweep of the Alvernia Golden Wolves in the conference semifinals. Stevenson's lone losses this season have come to a pair of MAC Freedom opponents.
Senior Ray McDermott comes into the match as one of the top players in the conference, sitting at 7-1 in singles play, with all but one win coming in the No. 1 spot. He is also 7-2 overall at No. 1 doubles, as he has played with both Ben Porto (1-1) and Larry Johnson III (6-1).
Sophomore Ben Porto comes into the match with a 6-2 record in singles play, primarily at the No. 2 position, with a single match at No. 1. He is also 6-3 in doubles play, playing with both Ray McDermott (1-1) and Richie Abruscato (5-2) primarily playing No. 2 doubles with a pair of matches in the No. 1 spot.
When They Met
As mentioned, the Falcons and Mustangs met one time during the regular season, with Stevenson winning 8-1.
Jarod Snader picked up the lone win for Messiah at No. 3 singles. The Mustangs currently hold a three match win streak over the Falcons dating back to the 2018-19 season.
Tournament History
Messiah advanced to their eighth straight conference championship match after their win over Lebanon Valley in the semifinals. They will be looking for their sixth championship during that stretch. Messiah is 1-1 in the conference tournament against Stevenson. They defeated them in the conference championship in 2015 before losing in the conference championship in 2019.
