BOWDOIN-BOUND: Eastern Nazarene Draws Yeshiva in NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament Debut
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- Coming off of its first-ever Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship, The Eastern Nazarene College men's tennis team will travel to Brunswick, Maine to face Yeshiva at Bowdoin College in the its first-ever NCAA Tournament match. The NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Committee unveiled the Division III Men's Tennis Championship field Monday and the Lions are one of 43 teams competing for a national title.
Eastern Nazarene bested six-time defending champion Ramapo in the GNAC Tournament finals Saturday. The Lions sport a 16-7 overall mark and head into the NCAA Tournament riding a nine-match winning-streak against NCAA Division III foes.
Junior Henry Siercke (Hamburg, Germany) was named the GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player while Julius Opaschowski (Hamburg, Germany) and Diego Rodriguez (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) earned All-Tournament accolades.
Opaschowski and Rodriguez pace the Lions with 15 singles victories on the season. Tim Schoengens (Inden, Germany) has tallied 13 singles wins while Siercke has notched 12.
Yeshiva captured its sixth-straight Skyline Conference title this season and owns a 14-7 record on the year. The Maccabees earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the sixth year in a row.
Bowdoin, the 2018 national runner-up and 2016 national champion, awaits the winner of the Eastern Nazarene vs. Yeshiva opening matchup. The Polar Bears are ranked No. 8 in the ITA National Poll and No. 4 in the Northeast Regional Rankings with a 16-4 record.
The teams will play a single-elimination tournament with the first, second and third rounds played at regional sites, Friday through Sunday, May 10-12, or Thursday through Saturday, May 9-11. Kalamazoo College will host the team championships finals, which will be held May 20-22 at Stowe Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.