Contact: Heather Benning, Executive Director, 920-430-0934
GRINNELL, Iowa - The field is set for the 2018 Midwest Conference (MWC) Men’s Tennis Championship. Entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed is Grinnell College. The Pioneers will face No. 4 seed Monmouth College. On the other side of the bracket is No. 2 Lake Forest College and No. 3 Lawrence University. The semi-final/final one-day event will be held on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Nielsen Tennis Center. Semi-final play begins at 10:00 a.m. with the MWC title match slated for 2:30 p.m. In addition to earning the league championship, the winner of the 2:30 competition receives the Conference’s Automatic Qualifier to the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Tournament.
Grinnell College enters the tournament as the 14-time defending champion. The Pioneers are undefeated (8-0) in league play and 20-4 overall. They are ranked 17th in the Central Region by Oracle/ITA. Grinnell’s last regular-season defeat by a MWC opponent was in 2000 when Lake Forest edged the Pioneers, 4-3. Coach Paige Madera’s No. 1 seed Grinnell will face No. 4-seed Monmouth.
The Fighting Scots’ roster features a quartet of seniors who will challenge for their first team appearance in the league title game; Monmouth last advanced to the Championship match in 2014. The Fighting Scots are led by Coach Brian Jordan ‘09.
Entering the tournament as the No. 2 seed is Lake Forest College. The Foresters’ conclude the 2018 season 13-7 overall and 7-1 in the MWC. Their lone Conference loss is an 8-1 defeat at the hands of the No. 1 Pioneers back on April 14. Lake Forest is led by sophomore Nick Zazove, the 2017 MWC Newcomer of the Year. Zazove is undefeated in league play at the No. 1 spot. Coach Raquel Allen is in her second year at Lake Forest where she leads the men and women’s tennis programs.
No. 3 seed Lawrence University will face a familiar opponent in the second semi-final when it takes the court against Lake Forest. The Vikings suffered a 7-2 road loss to the Foresters on Saturday before defeating Ripon 9-0 in their final regular-season match of the Year. Coach Steve Francour’s team is 12-8 overall and 6-2 in league play. Lawrence last appeared in the league title match in 2013.