Men's
Tennis Unbeaten in Conference,
Preparing to Host AMCC Championships
The Penn State Behrend men's tennis team moved to 13-7 overall and 6-0 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) this past weekend with two key league wins. On Friday the team traveled to Pitt-Greensburg where it handed the Bobcats their second 9-0 loss this year. The following day coach Barger's team made the trip to Frostburg State, where it handed Frostburg a 7-2 defeat.
Behrend has now won seven of its last eight matches and is picking up momentum at the perfect time. The AMCC Championships are just five days away from coming to Erie, where the team is 5-1 on the year. Head coach Jeff Barger stated, "I'm really happy with the way we have been playing. As a team everyone is hitting it off, and over the last two weeks our doubles play has come alive. Our goal was to peak for the tournament, and we are currently doing that, with many of our players performing better now than they have all year."
Leading the team this year is junior Ryan Deimel (Erie/Cathedral Prep). Deimel is 4-1 at number one singles in the AMCC and 14-4 overall. In number one doubles Deimel pairs up with sophomore John Marini (Erie/Cathedral Prep). High school teammates, the duo is 3-2 in the AMCC and 14-4 overall.
This year's tournament will mark the seventh year of AMCC men's tennis. Behrend has not won the crown since the first year of competition in 1998. The Frostburg State Bobcats were number one in 2001, with Penn State Altoona taking home the prize the other four years.
The
team's last tune up for the championships will come Wednesday, when
the Behrend Lions will play host to Fredonia at 3:30 p.m. The
AMCC Tournament will take place on Saturday, April 17,
starting at 9:00 a.m. Doubles play will kick things off with singles
to follow at 12:00 p.m.