WASHINGTON, Pa. (April 29) - The Saint Vincent men's tennis team clinched its first ever trip to the Presidents' Athletic Conference finals with a thrilling 5-3 win over Franciscan University in a PAC semifinal match played at Washington & Jefferson College.
The Bearcats fell behind 2-0 after early doubles play, but Mauricio Sanchez and Aaron Kuhn battled back from a 5-7 deficit to win 8-7(2) at third doubles to cut the deficit in half heading into singles.
Franciscan struck first in singles with a win at second singles to go up 3-1. From that point on, it was all Bearcats. Evan Ray was first off with a 6-3, 6-2 win at sixth singles. Shortly after, Sanchez tied the match with a 6-1, 6-3 win at third singles. David Lynn gave SVC its first lead of the day with his 6-2, 6-2 win in the top flight. The victory was clinched by none other than freshman Jack Citrone, who bullied his way to a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 win at fifth singles, his 12th straight singles win.
The Bearcats improve to 15-5 on the year and advance to their first ever PAC championship match. Their opponent, the Grove City Wolverines, bested the Westminster Titans in the other semifinal match by a score of 5-0.
The PAC championship match will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, April 30, at the Janet L. Swanson Tennis Center in Washington, Pennsylvania.
