Championship Central
Bloomsburg University is set to host the 2009 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships April 24-25. Semifinal matches are schedule for Friday, with the men’s pairings beginning at 1 p.m. and the women’s to follow at 3:30 p.m. Championship and consolation matches take place on Saturday, the men’s at 9 a.m. and the women’s at 11 a.m.
MEN’S
Kutztown is the top seed in the tournament and will oppose fourth-seeded Mercyhurst in semifinals. Bloomsburg is the No. 2 seed and will take on No. 3 Millersville in the other opening match.
Kutztown (11-4, 5-0 PSAC) has won seven league titles since 2000, including four straight from 2004-07. Last year’s runner-up to Bloomsburg is the favorite to win this year’s title after beating conference opponents by a combined score of 39-4. The Golden Bears downed Mercyhurst (10-6, 2-3), 6-1, in the regular season match-up. The Lakers are in their first year of competition in the PSAC.
Bloomsburg (9-6, 4-1) is the defending champion following a 5-1 win over Kutztown in last year’s title tilt. The Huskies, which also won the 2003 championship, own a league best 21 championships. Bloomsburg defeated Millersville (11-6, 3-2) by an 8-1 count in league play during the regular season. Millersville has won two PSAC titles in its school history, the most recent of which came in 1985.
WOMEN’S
Two-time defending champion California (18-2, 5-0 PSAC West) looks to continue its success at the PSAC tournament when it takes on the No. 2 seed out of the PSAC East, Kutztown (11-4, 4-1 PSAC East). The Vulcans have not surrendered a point to a PSAC opponent this season and have only two losses on the season – one to Division I Youngstown St., and one to perennial Division II powerhouse Rollins. California has four league titles, overall. Kutztown, a 5-3 quarterfinal winner over East Stroudsburg, is seeking its first conference crown.
Bloomsburg (12-4, 5-0 PSAC East) is the top seed out of the Eastern Division, taking on the West’s No. 2 in Slippery Rock (19-3, 4-1 PSAC West). The Huskies have won a PSAC-best 10 overall titles, including three straight from 2004-06. Slippery Rock advanced to the semifinals by downing Mercyhurst, 5-0, in the quarterfinals. The Rock won a 6-3 decision over Bloomsburg in mid-February and is looking for league supremacy for the fourth time, the most recent of which came in 2003.