Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
 
OSHKOSH, Wisconsin – The 2026 Midwest Conference Men’s Tennis Team Tournament takes place on Friday, April 24 at the Nielsen Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The league’s top four teams will compete for the tournament title and the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship.
 
Tournament play begins at 10:00 a.m. with two semifinal matchups: No. 1 Grinnell College will face No. 4 Illinois College, while No. 2 Lake Forest College takes on No. 3 Cornell College. The winners of the semifinal matches will advance to the final, which will begin one hour after the conclusion of the last semifinal.
 
Grinnell College enters as the No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season undefeated in MWC play (6-0), earning the program’s 22nd consecutive league title. The Pioneers hold a 17-5 overall record and are ranked 19th nationally by the ITA and second in NCAA Region VII.
 
Lake Forest College has secured the No. 2 seed for the fourth consecutive season, going 5-1 in MWC play (14-6 overall). The Foresters are ranked 45th nationally by the ITA. In each of their five league wins, the Foresters shut out their opponents 7-0.
 
Cornell College earned the No. 3 seed after going 4-2 in MWC play (14-11 overall). The Rams won their first four league contests before falling to Lake Forest and Grinnell last weekend.
 
Illinois College makes its second ever (and second consecutive) appearance in the MWC Tournament, claiming the No. 4 seed with a 3-3 conference record (13-9 overall).
 
The MWC men’s tennis format changed beginning with the 2023-24 season. The regular-season win percentage now determines the conference champion, while the four-team tournament decides which team will receive the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship. Since the format change, Grinnell, Lake Forest, and Cornell have consistently qualified as the top three seeds.
 
For updates throughout the tournament, fans can visit the MWC Men’s Tennis Team Tournament page.