STEUBENVILLE – The Franciscan men's tennis team is set to compete for its seventh-straight Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship this weekend as the Barons open the AMCC tournament against Penn State Behrend at 3:30 pm today.
The Barons have had an unprecedented run through the AMCC over the years and the 2018-19 campaign was no different. Franciscan finished 6-0 in the AMCC and clinched the regular season title for the seventh-straight year. Franciscan has won 62-straight matches against teams in the AMCC, including postseason matches, with the match last loss coming in the 2010-11 season. Franciscan has won every men's tennis championship since the conference moved from individual flights to a team-match championship format.
The 2018-19 Baron squad has lived up to the hype. In the 54 individual matches this season, the Barons have lost just five. Freshman
Billy Presume boasts a team-best 6-0 record at No. 3 singles while junior
Jack Galla (No. 4 singles) and sophomore
Luke Conrad (No. 2 singles) are perfect with 5-0 AMCC records after returning from Austria for the spring semester.
Freshman
Gary Pierre boasts an impressive 5-1 record at AMCC No. 1 singles this season while going 9-9 for the year at the top spot. Sophomore
Aidan Howard is perfect in singles while splitting time between No. 5 and No. 6 spots to finish 4-0 in AMCC matches.
Galla and Conrad are perfect in No. 2 doubles (5-0) action while junior
Walter Matt and sophomore
Aidan Howard at perfect at No. 3 doubles (5-0).
Franciscan will square off with a formidable opponent in Penn State Behrend in the first round at 3:30 pm. The Barons and Lions are no strangers to each other in the conference tournament, but this is the 2014-15 season the two teams will play before the championship match.
During the regular season, Franciscan swept the Lions 9-0 on April 5 in Erie, PA, behind three tight wins in doubles before taking all six singles matches.
The winner of the No. 1 Franciscan/No. 4 Penn State Behrend match will square off against the winner of the No. 2 Mount Aloysius/No. 3 Medaille match taking place at approximately 6:00 pm today. The championship match is slated for 1:00 pm on April 28. The winner of that match will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Championship weekend is held in Erie, PA at the Westwood Racquet Club. Admission is free for all spectators.
Directions to Westwood Racquet Club
