April 24, 2008
2008 Patriot League Men's Tennis Championship Page.
Center Valley, Pa. - The Navy men's tennis team will look to win their second-consecutive and sixth-overall team title at the 2008 Patriot League Men's Tennis Championship this weekend. The three-day event, which kicks off on Friday morning, will be played at the Joseph Abrahamson Tennis Courts on the campus of Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.
The competition will begin on Friday morning, when No. 4 Colgate takes on No. 5 Lafayette at 9:15 a.m. In the second of three matches on Friday, No. 3 Bucknell will play No. 6 Lehigh at 12:30 p.m. for a spot in Saturday's semifinals. The final quarterfinal match features No.2 Army against No. 7 Holy Cross, with a start time of approximately 4:15 p.m. Semifinal Saturday features two match-ups, as top-seeded Navy will take on the winner of the No. 4 Colgate/No. 5 Lafayette match at 10 a.m., while the winner of No. 2 Army/No. 7 Holy Cross will play the winner of the match between No. 3 Bucknell and No. 6 Lehigh. The 2008 Patriot League Men's Tennis Championship Match will take place on Sunday, April 27 at approximately 1 p.m. All times are tentative, based on weather and length of match.
The 2008 Patriot League Men's Tennis champion will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, which beings regional play May 9-10. The NCAA Championship field will be announced on ESPNews on Tuesday, April 29 between 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Navy will look to become the sixth-consecutive school to repeat as Patriot League champion when they take to the courts this weekend. The Mids are led by junior Nate Nelms, who is the reigning Joe Abrahamson Award winner as the tournament's MVP in 2007. Nelms is joined by fellow junior John Waters, senior Alex James and sophomore Ramsey Lemaich. The Mids moved through Patriot League play with an undefeated record of 5-0, and finished with an overall record of 18-8.
Second-seeded Army (14-7, 5-1) will be looking to take the title of team champion back from their arch-rival Navy when play gets underway this weekend. The Black Knights, who lost just one Patriot League match this season (Navy, 4-3) have a solid corps of veterans returning for another shot at the title. Junior Phil Muhawi and senior Eddie Kang were both members of the 2007 All-Patriot League team, while Kang was named Player of the Month for the month of February 2008. The Black Knights have won nine Patriot League championships in the 18-year history of the event.
Bucknell (10-8, 3-2) earned the third seed in this weekend's tournament, with their only two League losses coming to Army and Navy. The Bison are once again led by senior Ira Reibeisen, who was a First-Team All-Patriot League selection a season ago. Reibeisen was also named Player of the Month back in October of 2007. Bucknell has one Patriot League title in program history, which they won back in the 1991 season.
The Colgate Raiders (8-10, 2-3) will serve as the host of this year's championship event, as well as the No. 4 seed. The Raiders have never won the Patriot League tournament, but will rely heavily on junior Martin MacIntyre to try and change that. MacIntyre was an All-Patriot League selection in 2007, and has been named Player of the Month twice during the 2007-08 season, for September and March.
Lafayette (7-5, 2-4) comes into this year's tournament as the No. 5 seed in the field of seven. The Leopards are led by sophomore Eric Wiley, who earned an All-Patriot League nod in his freshman campaign. The Lehigh Mountain Hawks (6-13, 1-5) earned the tournament's No. 6 seed, and will be led by senior John Nespoli. Rounding out the tournament field is the No. 7 seed, Holy Cross, who finished the regular season with an overall record of 2-6.
Results for this weekend's competition can be found on the Patriot League site on the main page as well as on the Men's Tennis Championship Page which can be accessed by clicking here.
2008 Patriot League Men's Tennis Championship
Friday, April 25
Quarterfinal 1: No. 4 Colgate vs. No. 5 Lafayette, 9:15 a.m.
Quarterfinal 2: No. 3 Bucknell vs. No. 6 Lehigh, 12:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal 3: No. 2 Army vs. No. 7 Holy Cross, 4:15 p.m.
Saturday, April 26
Semifinal 1: No. 1 Navy vs. Winner No. 4 Colgate/No. 5 Lafayette, 10 a.m.
Semifinal 2: Winner No. 2 Army/No. 7 Holy Cross vs. Winner No. 3 Bucknell/No. 6 Lehigh, 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 27
Championship Match, 1 p.m.
