Wilkes Universities men’s tennis team has aced its way into the Nationals, after a win over Kings College last Saturday.
Not only did the win secure a spot at Nationals, it gave the Colonels their fifth straight Freedom Conference championship.
The Colonels finished out the season with a record of 14-3. The team is now headed to Williams College to take on Stevens Institute of Technology in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship.
The teams will be playing a single-elimination tournament, with a championship that is a 43-team tournament. First, second and third rounds are going to be played May 11-13, at regional sites. Finals will be held May 21-23 at the Cary Tennis Park in North Carolina.
“ We had a great season as a team and are happy to take our talents to Massachusetts to show other teams that we are too legit to quit,” said Clarke Freeman, junior and recently named the most valuable player of the Freedom Conference.
Winning the freedom conference for the fifth year in a row and clenching a spot to the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship are not the only honors the team has this season. Three Colonels were named to the All-Freedom tennis team.
Freshman Steven Wilson was selected as a first team All-Freedom and the Freedom Rookie of the Year award after finishing 14-11 overall from the No. 1 and 2 singles position lineup.
“To have an opportunity to perform at such a high level of tennis as a freshman is great because I can use this as experience for years to come,” Wilson said.
Sophomore Alex Makos was selected to the first-team finishing up his sophomore year season. He finished the season with 16-10 No.1 singles spot, and 3-2 in Freedom matches.
Freshman Zach Telljohann was selected to the all-freedom squad’s second team choice. Telljohann finished his first season 20-5 overall mark at No. 3 singles, and 5-0 in league matches.
Coach Chris Leicht earned his fifth coach of the year honors after winning a fifth consecutive Freedom title and leading his team to a 14-3 overall record.