BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — For the first time since 2007, the Millersville men's tennis team will compete in the PSAC Tournament championship match after defeating the No. 2-seeded Mercyhurst Lakers 4–2 in the semifinals.
The Marauders played spoiler, as this is the first time since 2014 the conference championship match won't feature a contest between Mercyhurst and Edinboro. Millersville had entered the tournament on an eight-match win streak, with their last loss being against the Lakers on a roadtrip to northwest Pennsylvania in mid-March. 'Ville also snapped a five-match losing streak to the Lakers spanning back to 2021.
Millersville took control of the match early in doubles play. The third duo of
Valentin Ebner and
Jasper de Koning jumped out to a quick 4–0 lead in their match and held on to take a 6–3 win. In the top doubles match,
Dylan Tull and
Zach Pernia ran into trouble early in their match, falling into a 0–4 hole. However, the duo stormed back, scoring the next six points to take their match 6–4 and secure the point in doubles.
Tull stayed hot in singles play, being the first to win his match by the score 6–1, 6–2. In the second flight, Pernia played Mercyhurst's Lukas Cabue for the third time this season, fourth time overall. Prior to the semifinals match, Cabue took all three previous meetings. In the first set, Pernia stormed out to win the first four points en route to a 6–2 win in the first set. Pernia continued to roll, taking three of the first four points in the second set. Cabue battled back to tie it at five points each, but Pernia grinded out the last two points to take the match by winning the second set 7–5. With three points earned, the Marauders needed just one more win in singles play. The Lakers took the third and fourth flights to close the gap to 3–2, as the fifth and sixth matches both went to three sets. In the fifth match,
Breno Maciel fell 4-6 in a back and forth first set, but really took control with a 6–2 win in the second set. Maciel's momentum carried over to the third set, winning 6–2 to clinch the Marauders spot in the championship match.
Millersville looks to win its first PSAC men's tennis championship since 1985 against Edinboro at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning in Bloomsburg, Pa.
