(LEBANON, Ill., April 30)—McKendree University is one victory away from earning an automatic berth in the NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship.
The Bearcats, ranked No. 19 in the final NAIA regular-season poll, posted a 5-4 victory over No. 22 Lindenwood University in the semifinal round of the American Midwest Conference/A.I.I. Unaffiliated Tournament on Thursday. The semifinal match was played in St. Louis after being washed out earlier in the week in Marshall, Mo.
Thursday's win gives McKendree a 21-3 overall record and a berth in the AMC/A.I.I. Unaffiliated Tournament finals against No. 10-ranked Graceland University. The Bearcats and Yellow Jackets will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. in Marshall, Mo. The winner earns an automatic bid to the NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship, which will be held May 18-22 in Mobile, Ala.
McKendree and Graceland have met once already this season. Back on March 21 in St. Louis, the Yellow Jackets edged the Bearcats, 5-4.
McKENDREE UNIVERSITY MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS
THURSDAY, APRIL 29 AT ST. LOUIS, MO.
McKendree University 5, Lindenwood University 4
Singles –
Caio Claudino (LU) def. Evgeniy Nigmatyanov (McK) 6-2, 7-5
Barnabas Toth (Cegleo, Hungary/Kossuth Lajos) (McK) def. Gauthier Schilling (LU) 6-1, 6-1
Danny Gonzalez (McK) def. Rogrido Traldi (LU) 7-6, 7-6
Fabio Tsuchiya (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Ateneu) (McK) def. Renzo Lau (LU) 7-6, 6-3
Stephane Dal Soglio (LU) def. Paulo Goncalves (Betim, Brazil/Colegio Pitagoras) (McK) 6-4, 6-3
Mario Cal (LU) def. Davi Venditto (Jundiai, Brazil/Divino Salvador) (McK) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles –
Claudino/Lau (LU) def. Nigmatyanov/Venditto (McK) 8-5
Gonzalez/Toth (McK) def. Traldi/Schilling (LU) 8-1
Tsuchiya/Mennerick (McK) def. Capdeviole/Dal Soglio (LU) 9-8
McKendree is 21-3 overall
