Kutztown 5, Mercyhurst 1 (HTML Box Score)
INDIANA, Pa. – The Kutztown University men's tennis team defeated Mercyhurst University 5-1 in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the Maple Street Courts to advance to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship for the 13th consecutive year.
The Golden Bears (10-6) will face Edinboro at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon for the PSAC Championship. They have competed in the championship match in 13 straight seasons, dating back to the 2001 season when KU won its first-ever PSAC team title. Prior to 2001, the PSAC championships were based on individual performance.
Kutztown has won the PSAC Championship in three of the last four, and nine of the last 12 years at the annual team championships. Kutztown has won 10 championships in program history and is tied for second in total championships with East Stroudsburg.
Saturday marked the second time this season Kutztown took down Mercyhurst, improving the all-time series to 10-0 for the Golden Bears.
Rushi Amin (Orefield, PA/Lake Brantley) and
Varun Desai (Mumbai, India/K.C. College) won their sixth straight doubles match with an 8-1 victory. It gave Kutztown a 2-0 advantage as Matthew Macguire and Kenny Beebe opened the day with an 8-2 win at No. 3 doubles. The Lakers cut the Golden Bear lead to 2-1 with a win at No. 2 doubles.
In singles play, freshman
Patricio Hernandez (Mexico City, Mexico/Colegio Vista Hermosa) allowed just one point in a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles. Desai then finished at No. 2 singles. He opened the match with a 6-0 first set win, and pulled out a close 7-5 win in the second set to give Kutztown a 4-1 lead and needing just one win in the remaining four singles matches.
Freshman
Rich Lichtenwalner (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) gave Kutztown the team victory with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles.
Edinboro defeated West Chester University in a 5-3 upset victory as West Chester was the No. 1 seed in the tournament with Edinboro holding the No. 4 seed. Kutztown defeated Edinboro 8-1 earlier this season.
