MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – On Friday morning, Messiah men's tennis team will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in program history and the first time since 2018 when they square off with the Allegheny Gators. The Falcons and Gators will meet in Middlebury, Vt. On the campus of Middlebury College at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning. The winner of Friday's match will advance to take on the No. 7 Middlebury Panthers on Saturday, May 11 at 10:00 a.m.
Messiah is looking for their first victory in their eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons won three courts against the Juniata Eagles in 2015, but fell short 5-3. Allegheny will be making their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance after repeating as Champions in the Presidents Athletic Conference.
See below for a quick preview of the Falcons and Gators:
Messiah University Falcons – 9-8, 6-0 MAC Commonwealth Champions
The Falcons started the 2023-24 season slow, dropping their first seven matches and eight of their first nine. However, since the calendar turned to April and MAC Commonwealth competition began, the Falcons have been rolling. Messiah has won their last eight matches, including a 6-0 mark in the conference regular season, a 5-0 victory against Albright in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals, and a 5-1 victory over Stevenson in the Conference Championship Match. The result is a 9-8 record this season for the Falcons.
On Thursday afternoon, Messiah had five student-athletes honored on the MAC Commonwealth Men's Tennis All-Conference teams. This season the Falcons have been led by a trio of First Team All-Conference honorees with
Chase Wilson (7-7 singles, 8-8 doubles), Michael Neimi (7-8 singles, 9-8 doubles), and Timothy Sheafer (9-7 singles, 8-8 doubles) all having solid seasons.
Luke Risser (Honorable Mention),
Elijah Noll (Honorable Mention), and
Carl Anderson round out the Falcons starting line-up.
Allegheny College Gators – 15-5, 8-0 Presidents Athletic Conference Champions
For the second-straight year, the Allegheny Gators will play in the NCAA Tournament. It will also be their second-ever appearance. Winners of the Presidents Athletic Conference, the Gators currently hold a 15-5 overall record and went undefeated in conference play this season before earning a pair of 5-1 victories in the conference tournament over Franciscan and Grove City to claim their second-straight PAC Championship.
For the Gators, Anton Hedlund (20-5 singles, 23-7 doubles) and David Rodriguez (16-6 singles, 20-8 doubles) have teamed up in doubles play and hold down the top court. Hedlund has played all 19 of his singles matches in duals at the top court while Rodriguez and anchored the second court with stellar play. The two will certainly be players to watch after they helped account for three of the Gators' five points in the Conference Championship last week.
Common Opponent
The Falcons and Gators have shared just one opponent this season, both squaring off with Grove City. In Messiah's first match of the 2023 fall season, the Falcons hosted the Grove City Wolverines, falling 9-0 on Sept. 14. The Gators as very familiar with Grove City, defeating them in the PAC Championship on Apr. 27 by a 5-1 final score. Earlier in the season, the Gators defeated the Wolverines 7-2 on Apr. 10 to claim the regular season meeting as well.
