CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. – The Penn State Abington Nittany Lions captured the 2013-14 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) West Division* Men's Tennis Championship after claiming two match victories as the No. 2 seed in the four-team divisional tournament, which was held at the six-court Birchwood Tennis Club in Clarks Summit, Pa. Saturday.
The Nittany Lions will now advance to take on the NAC East Division* champion, which will be determined after Sunday's four-team tournament hosted by the top-seeded Colby-Sawyer College Chargers (click here for a full preview). The two divisional champions will then meet next weekend at a site yet to be determined, with the winner of that match being crowned the conference champion and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
In a rematch of last year's divisional title match, Abington prevailed this time around with a 5-2 win over the defending champion and top-seeded Rutgers University-Camden Scarlet Raptors. The Nittany Lions took a 2-1 lead after doubles play, as junior James Howell (Abington, Mass.) and sophomore Monte Dunson (Philadelphia, Pa.) defeated freshman Kevin Ziemba (Haddonfield, N.J.) and senior Mike Steinberger (Haddonfield, N.J.) 8-6 in first doubles while senior Steven Ly (Bensalem, Pa.) and junior Kevin Wilkinson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) defeated junior Onkar Singh (Sicklerville, N.J.) and Drew Delengowski (West Deptford, N.J.) 8-4 in second doubles. Rutgers-Camden sophomore Terry Long (Haddon Heights, N.J.) and freshman Lloyd Pearson (Sicklerville, N.J.) defeated freshmen Mike Herman (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Sam Borai (Toms River, N.J.) 8-6 in third doubles.
Rutgers-Camden would tie the match at 2-2 after Steinberger defeated Wilkinson 6-2, 6-1 in fifth singles, but Abington would take the next three singles matches in straight sets to secure the five points needed in the first-to-five format. Howell would defeat Singh 6-3, 6-2 in second singles, Dunson got by Ziemba 6-3, 6-3 in third singles and Herman would seal the deal with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Long in first singles to clinch the title.
Penn State Abington also defeated No. 3 seed Penn State Berks 5-2 in the semifinals earlier in the day. Abington again jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles action was finished, as Ly and Wilkinson defeated Berks freshmen Volan Nnapalle (Coatesville, Pa.) and Dylan Deleon (Easton, Pa.) 8-1 in second doubles before Herman and Borai got by sophomores Jerrad Seifrit (Reinholds, Pa.) and Justin Bass (Catasauqua, Pa.) 8-2 in third doubles. The Berks duo of sophomore Drew Weinhold (Denver, Pa.) and freshman Ryan Fritz (Ephrata, Pa.) got by Abington's team of Howell and Dunson with an 8-4 victory in first doubles.
Howell went on to defeat Nnapalle 6-3, 6-1 in second singles, while Dunson battled it out with Fritz for a 6-0, 7-6 (7-2) win in third singles. After Weinhold defeated Herman 6-2, 6-1 in first singles, Ly would secure the needed fifth point for Abington with a straight-set victory (6-1, 6-0) in fourth singles over Seifrit to send Abington to the championships.
Penn State Abington now enters next weekend's match at 10-5 overall.
The Scarlet Raptors swept through No. 4 seed Lancaster Bible College 5-0 in the semifinals, winning all three doubles matches before winning first and third singles to secure the needed points. Ziemba and Steinberger pulled out a hard-fought win in first doubles, taking the match 9-8 after a 7-4 tiebreak over Lancaster Bible junior Alex Derus (Lancaster, Pa.) and grad student Alex Ko (Dallas, Texas). Singh and Delengowski picked up an 8-6 victory in second doubles over junior Dan Soden (Lancaster, Pa.) and sophomore Tedd Holbrook (Rising Sun, Md.), while Long and Pearson won 8-0 over freshman Cody Rupp (Dayton, Ohio) and junior Justin Bendo (Tiyan, Guam).
In singles play, Long defeated Derus 6-1, 6-1 in the first flight before Ziemba defeated Soden 6-2, 6-2 in third singles to clinch the win and advance the Scarlet Raptors to their second straight divisional championship match.
The individual tournament will also be held at Birchwood on Sunday beginning at 8 a.m. The individual matches will consist of the top-four seeded student-athletes for first through sixth singles and first through third doubles, where each flight will see the No. 1 seed take on the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed take on the No. 3 seed. The winners will move on to the championship round, while those that lose will be placed into a consolation bracket.
The championship round will then produce six singles position champions and three doubles position champions, with those student-athletes also making up the All-Conference First Team. The runners-up from those flights will make up the All-Conference Second Team, while the All-Conference Third Team will consist of the winners of each flight from the consolation bracket.
To view the individual seeding, click here.
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The North Eastern Athletic Conference has twelve NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Cazenovia College, College of St. Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania State University - Abington, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Institute of Technology, SUNY Morrisville State College, Wells College, and Wilson College. Bryn Athyn College and Pennsylvania College of the Technology will both join the conference as full members in 2014-15. Associate members are: Cedar Crest College (W Swimming), D'Youville College (M Volleyball), Hilbert College (M Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Penn State Altoona (M Volleyball) and Rutgers University - Camden (M Golf & M Tennis). The North Eastern Athletic Conference has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sports of men's and women's tennis.
*Beginning with the 2010 season, the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) in the sport of men's and women's tennis. The NEAC will compete as associate members of the NAC in men's tennis, while the NAC will compete as associate members of the NEAC in women's tennis. Members from each conference will be divided into an East and West Division for each sport, with each division holding a championship and the two divisional champions then facing off to determine the conference champion. The conference winner for each sport will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.
A complete breakdown of the NEAC/NAC tennis partnership is as follows:
Men's Tennis: NEAC members Cazenovia, Keuka, Lancaster Bible, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks and Rutgers-Camden will play as associate members of the NAC in a West Division. The East Division will consist of NAC members Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, Green Mountain, Johnson State, Lyndon State, MCLA and Thomas.
Women's Tennis: NAC members Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, Johnson State, Lyndon State, MCLA and Thomas will play in the NEAC as associate members in the East Division. The West Division will consist of NEAC members Cazenovia, College of St. Elizabeth, Keuka, Lancaster Bible, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks and Wells.
