GRANTHAM, PA. – The Messiah men's tennis team is set to begin the MAC Commonwealth Tournament tomorrow afternoon against the Stevenson Mustangs. The Falcons closed out the regular season with an 8-7 record and 5-2 conference mark, earning them the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
Earlier this season, Messiah traveled to Stevenson for a clash of the conference unbeatens at that point in the season. After dropping two out of the opening three doubles matches, the Falcons went on to drop five of the singles matches in a 2-7 defeat.
Messiah will travel to Owings Mills, Md. on the Greenspring Campus to battle the Mustangs in the opening round of the MAC Commonwealth tournament on April 25. First serve is set for 3:30 PM.
See below for a quick preview of the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals.
No. 3 Messiah University Falcons, 8-7, (5-2)
Schedule Roster Stats
The Falcons earned the No. 3 seed this season after going 5-2 in the conference. Their only two losses of the year came to Lebanon Valley and these Stevenson Mustangs. Both of those matches were 2-7 defeats.
The Falcons have a strong top half of the lineup with
Chase Wilson and
Connor Rose with their stellar doubles play and good singles play. The duo of Wilson/Rose went 9-4 in doubles and 5-1 in the conference. In singles, Wilson and Rose each have only dropped two conference matches.
During the season, the Falcons are 6-0 when Wilson/Rose won both their doubles and singles matches. If the Falcons want to make an upset, look for these two players to step up and lead the team in the postseason.
No. 2 Stevenson University Mustangs, 10-6, (6-1)
Schedule Roster Stats
The Mustangs won all but one conference match this year to earn a 6-1 conference record and the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Their lone loss was to Lebanon Valley where the Dutchmen won 6-3.
Stevenson is relatively even throughout the lineup, with a strong number one and two player(s). Larry Johnson and JJ Bonta have proven to be catalysts in the Mustang lineup and have found success all season winning in the conference. They as well will look to carry the Mustangs to yet another Conference Title berth.
Previous Matchup
These squads paired up just a few weeks ago on April 11 where the Mustangs outlasted the Falcons winning 7-2. The Falcons started off slow in doubles and could only convert one doubles court for a win. Trailing 1-2 going into singles, the Falcons won four first sets, yet only prevailed in one of them as Stevenson took five of the six singles matches for the 7-2 win.
Tournament History
Stevenson has not been kind to Messiah as of late. The Mustangs have ended the Falcons tournament run for the last three seasons dating back to 2019. In 2019 and 2021, the Falcons fell in the MAC Championship to the Mustangs while just last season the Falcons lost in the Semifinals to the Mustangs by a score of 5-2.
When these teams started playing back in 2014, Messiah won the first five matchups up until 2018. Since 2019, Messiah has faced Stevenson seven times and the Mustangs have converted all of them.
Match Start
The Falcons will look to snap a seven-game losing skid against Stevenson when they travel to the Greensping Campus in Owings Mills, Md for the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal on April 25. That match is set to begin at 3:30 PM.
