Fredericksburg, Virginia - The Trinity men's tennis team opened its 22nd NCAA Division III Championship appearance with a 5-0 second-round victory over Wilkes (PA) University at the University of Mary Washington on Friday.
Trinity, which received a first-round bye, improved to 18-8 and will take on Mary Washington in a third-round matchup at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. The winner will advance to the national quarterfinals May 18 at Mason, Ohio. The semifinals and final will be played May 19-20, also at the same site.
The Tigers swept the doubles matches against the Colonels, with Jordan Mayer and Clayton Niess winning the No. 1 match. Aaron Skinner and Adam Krull took the No. 2 line, and Charlie Curtis and Chas Mayer now stand at 13-8 this season with a victory in the No. 3 pairing.
Needing just two matches to advance to the third round, the Tigers added to the victory column as Niess won No. 5 singles in straight sets. The clincher was supplied by Skinner, who improved to 15-7 on the year after defeating his opponent in two sets at No. 2 singles.
Krull, who will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship May 21-23 in Ohio, was leading in the No. 1 matchup when the dual match was halted. Jordan Mayer and Chas Mayer held the advantage at Nos. 3 and 6 singles, respectively. Curtis won the first set of No. 4 singles, and the second-set score was close at the suspension.
Trinity head Coach Russell McMindes is guiding his Tigers in their sixth straight NCAA postseason tournament, in as many years on the job. Last season, Trinity advanced to the NCAA semifinals at Claremont, California, and finished as the No. 3 team in the nation.
