The Lancaster Bible College men's tennis team will play for a trip to the NCAA Division III National Tournament on Saturday night, as the Chargers, winners of the North Eastern Athletic Conference, will host Northern Vermont-Lyndon, who won the North Atlantic Conference. Neither the NEAC or NAC has enough teams participating in men's tennis for an automatic bid, so the conferences split the bid, with the winner of the crossover match earning a trip to the big dance.
 
Saturday's winner-take-all match features the Hornets, who will be making the eight-hour trip south, and their 4-2 record, while the Chargers are 10-1 overall this season and haven't lost since March 20.
 
Saturday night's winner will learn its NCAA Division III Tournament fate on Monday, May 10, as the NCAA will announce the tournament field and first round matchups. Whichever team wins on Saturday will head to its first-ever NCAA Division III National Tournament.
 
Northern Vermont-Lyndon vs. Lancaster Bible
Saturday, May 8, 2021 – 6 p.m.
Hempfield Rec Center
 
Team Records
NVU-Lyndon: 4-2
Lancaster Bible: 10-1
 
How They Got Here
NVU-Lyndon: After posting a 1-1 mark in NAC play during the regular season, the Hornets battled Thomas (Maine) in an epic conference final that NVU-Lyndon pulled out, 5-4…The Hornets lost two of the three doubles matches, and eventually trailed 4-1 after dropping two singles matches…NVU-Lyndon didn't waiver however, and battled back to tie the match at 4-4 after winning flights three, four, and five…Garrick Webster, playing flight six for the Hornets, sealed the comeback win with a 6-3, 6-1 win, and gave the Hornets their first-ever NAC crown.
 
Lancaster Bible: The Chargers were the top seed in the NEAC Tournament, but were forced to travel to third-seeded Penn St. Harrisburg for the NEAC Final due to court availability and weather…The venue change didn't change much however, as Lancaster Bible won two of the three doubles matches, and eventually clinched the match thanks to Keven Vallette's victory at No. 5 singles.
 
Statistically Speaking
NVU-Lyndon: After beginning the season 1-2, the Hornets have won three straight matches…Zach Falkenburg is 5-1 in singles play this season, as he has played the majority of his matches at No. 4 singles, but also has wins at No. 3 singles.
 
Lancaster Bible: AJ Kwiatkowski is 11-0 at No. 6 singles this season, and also boasts an 8-3 record in doubles play…Keven Vallette is 10-1 in singles, as he is 6-1 at No. 5 singles, 3-0 at No. 4 singles, and 1-0 at No. 3 singles…Vallette is also 11-0 in doubles this season, as he and No. 3 doubles partner Micah Weaver are 8-0…Vallette's 28 career doubles wins are the most in program history…Malachi Bomgardner is 7-2 in singles play this season, while Weaver is 7-3, including a 7-1 mark at No. 3 singles…The Chargers are 45-17 in singles play this season and 25-7 in doubles action.
 
Team Notes
NVU-Lyndon: This year's run to a NAC Championship is a huge deal for the Hornets, as the men's tennis program was 3-52 from 2015-2020…This year's team has tied for the fourth-most wins in program history, and done so in just six matches...Since 2010, the Hornets have not played a college or university from the state of Pennsylvania…NVU-Lyndon Head Coach Laura Laramee is in her 10^th season with the Hornets…Of the team's four wins this season, two are against Thomas (Maine), while the other two were wins over Castleton.
 
Lancaster Bible: The Chargers played in the NEAC-NAC Crossover Match in 2019 after winning the NEAC, and lost to Thomas (Maine), 7-2 in Latham, N.Y…Lancaster Bible's eight straight wins are a program record, as are the team's 10 total wins this year…This is the first time in program history the Chargers have played a team from Vermont…It also marks the first time this season the Chargers have played a team from outside the state of Pennsylvania…Lancaster Bible is 5-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Champion Mount Aloysius, 5-4.
 
How to Watch
Saturday night's match will be broadcast live on the Chargers Sports Network at 6 p.m…Multiple courts will be shown during the broadcast…If the match is moved inside due to inclement weather, the broadcast may look different, but everything will be done to show as many courts as possible.