Men's Tennis Takes on Goucher in Landmark Semifinals
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's tennis team is headed to Baltimore on Tuesday, April 28 for the 2015 Landmark Conference Tournament as the number three seed in a semifinal match versus second seed Goucher College at 3:00 p.m.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's tennis team is headed to Baltimore on Tuesday, April 28 for the 2015 Landmark Conference Tournament as the number three seed in a semifinal match versus second seed Goucher College at 3:00 p.m.
The Greyhounds are 11-6 this season with a 6-2 Landmark regular season record, returning to the postseason for the second straight year even moving up a seed from 2014. Moravian and Goucher met earlier this month with the Gophers winning by a margin of 7-2. The Blue and Grey are on a three-match winning streak after two Landmark wins and hard -fought match over Muhlenberg College as they head into tournament play.
"Our team is extremely pleased to be back in the playoffs this year and to be the third seed in the Landmark Conference Championships," commented Head Coach Art Smith. "Our semifinal opponent Goucher is a very good team but our players are looking forward to the challenge of playing them once again. "
The Hounds are still quite a young squad with only one senior graduating this year. Senior co-captain Lewis Cooper and junior co-captain Matt Tuorto have set a high bar all season. Cooper, who has posted a 15-6 mark at third singles this season, became the seventh player at Moravian to reach 40 singles wins with a 41-25 career record, and he has a 14-7 mark in second doubles with a career record of 43-24 which ties him for first and is in a three-way tie for second for wins in a season at 14. Tuorto, has a 12-9 overall mark in the number one singles spot with 31 career wins moves into a tie for ninth in Greyhound record books, and he has a 14-8 overall mark in first doubles action.
Junior John Wylie is playing second singles for the Hounds with a 7-9 mark and has paired with Tuorto at first doubles with a 14-8 overall record which gives the tow of them a second for doubles matches in a season and a tie for fifth for career matches. Sophomores Dan Schmucker and Giovanni Lombardi have both been resilient in their sophomore campaigns. Schmucker is 10-9 playing in the fourth singles spot while Lomabardi 7-14 in fifth singles, and Lombardi has combined with Cooper for a 14-7 overall doubles record this season.
Schmucker and freshman David Wilson round out the successful doubles play this year in the third spot having combined for an 10-7 record for Moravian while junior C.J. Widdifield has a 8-9 slate at sixth singles heading into Tuesday's match.
The winner of Tuesday's semifinal match will advance to the 2015 Landmark Conference Championship contest on Saturday, May 2 at the highest remaining seed with the conference champion earning an automatic berth to the 2015 NCAA Division III Tournament in May.
