By John Gallagher

ERIE, Pa. - The Franciscan men's tennis team made it six straight AMCC titles on Sunday afternoon, with a 5-0 straight sets victory over Penn State Behrend. The victory marks the seventh AMCC men's tennis title in eight years, giving the Barons the record for most titles in conference history.

In typical postseason format, the match was to be played only to five total match wins.

Four holds of serve characterized a tight 2-2 matchup at No. 2 doubles before seniors Gallagher and Jooste broke serve for a 3-2 lead. The duo would win four of the next five games to accrue a commanding 7-3 lead, behind Gallagher's consistent groundstrokes and consistent net play from Jooste. The seniors faced a breakpoint on Jooste's serve at 7-4, but three straight points when it mattered gave the Barons the match and the 1-0 overall lead against Behrend.

On the first court, sophomore Jake Haffner and senior Jarek Sulak went down 5-2 after two breaks of serve. The pair ripped off three straight games to level the score at 5-5, breaking serve twice and holding for the tie. Behrend held serve at 5-5 to accrue a 6-5 lead, before solid service returns allowed Franciscan to counter the beak of serve and hold, for a 7-6 lead. Four straight points went the Barons' way to close out a tight match 8-6, in Franciscan's favor. Sulak's serves looked consistent as ever in the win.

Last to finish was No. 3 doubles, where freshman Luke Conrad and sophomore Jack Galla served out at 7-4 for the 8-4 victory. Conrad's deep service return at deuce set up Galla on the ad side for match point, and Franciscan capitalized on the opportunity for the match win, and the 3-0 doubles sweep.

After a designated 10-minute rest period, Franciscan took the courts again to begin singles play. Gallagher at No. 3 singles and Conrad at No. 5 singles were the first to take their first sets, followed closely by Haffner at the No. 1 singles spot.

Up 5-0 in his second set, Gallagher went down 30-love after taking his first set 6-1. He rattled off four straight points to take the game and the match, clinching the fourth overall point for the Barons on the afternoon.

For the fourth straight season, a freshman clinched the fifth and deciding point for Franciscan tennis. The third of three aces in his deciding game officially game the Barons the win, behind Conrad's impressive 6-0, 6-0 victory.

The championship has capped a successful season for the Barons, a campaign that saw the squad improve to 14-9, thanks to the efforts of second-year head coach Scott Greve. The team also wishes to thank team correspondent Stephen Bolster, for his frequent contributions of on-court wisdom.

Post-match, above-average interpretive dancer Stephen Bolster asked "Did we win?"

The Barons earned a few days of rest, before the men will take to their home courts for Senior Day, on April 24 at 3:30 pm against Grove City.