Men’s Tennis Draws Stevens in NCAA Tournament
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- After defending its Great Northeast Athletic Conference title, the Eastern Nazarene College men's tennis team punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. The Lions will travel to Vermont to square off against Stevens at Middlebury College in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament May 12. 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.
Thursday's matchup will be the first all-time meeting between the Lions and the Ducks.
The winner of Thursday's clash will advance to face Middlebury in the NCAA Tournament second round. The Panthers, ranked No. 4 in the latest ITA National Poll and No. 2 in the ITA Northeast Regional Rankings, enter the NCAA Tournament with an 18-2 record on the year and are coming off of their second NESCAC title in a row.
Eastern Nazarene defeated Colby-Sawyer 5-1 in the GNAC Tournament finals May 7 to claim its second-consecutive crown. The Lions boast an 11-5 overall record and head into the NCAA Tournament touting an unbeaten 11-0 mark against NCAA Division III opponents this year. Eastern Nazarene is riding a 17-match winning-streak versus NCAA Division III foes.
Carlos Sanchez (Malaga, Spain) was named the GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player while Simao Nobre (Lisbon, Portugal) and Avelino Parrondo (Madrid, Spain) also collected All-Tournament accolades.
Sanchez paces the Lions with a 12-3 record in singles action while Parrondo boasts a 10-4 record in singles matches this season.
Eastern Nazarene's No. 1 doubles tandem of Diego Rodriguez (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and Sanchez has posted an 11-6 mark this year.
Stevens owns a 13-4 overall record and reached the NCAA Tournament after capturing its second-straight MAC Freedom championship with a 5-0 victory over Wilkes.
Eastern Nazarene made its NCAA Tournament debut in 2019, prevailing 5-1 over Yeshiva before falling to No. 8 Bowdoin.