May 9, 2008

Pioneers To Compete At NAIA National Championships

The Malone College men’s tennis team, led by fourth-year head coach Tom Brown, will compete at the 57th annual NAIA National Championships at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama May 12-16.  The Pioneers earned an automatic bid to the national event by winning the AMC/NAIA Region IX Tournament hosted by Walsh University May 1-2.
 
Malone, which tallied a perfect 5-0 record in American Mideast Conference play this season, claimed its first NAIA regional tournament title in 13 years after posting a 6-3 win over #4 seed Ohio Dominican University in the semifinals and a 5-3 victory over second-seeded Walsh in the finals.  In both contests, the Pioneers trailed 2-1 after doubles play but then rallied back with strong efforts in singles competition.  Malone’s victory over Walsh not only gave the Pioneers their first national tourney bid since 1995, but it also snapped the Cavaliers’ 11-year streak of qualifying for the NAIA National Tournament.
 
Leading the Malone squad this year is #1 singles player Jason Christman (Sr., McKinley H.S.) and #2 singles player Kyle Bowers (Jr., Norwalk H.S.).  The duo, who also combine as the squad’s #1 doubles pairing, each were recently voted to the All-AMC team for both singles and doubles play.  David Cairns (Fr., Strongsville, OH), the Pioneers’ #3 singles player, and Nathanael Rodd (So., Canton, OH), the #4 singles player, team up at #2 doubles while Tim Springirth (Jr., Erie, PA) and Tim Frazier (So., Beaver Falls, PA) hold the #5 and #6 singles spots, respectively.  Also on the Malone team and making the trip to Mobile, will be Dan Yard (Sr., Louisville H.S.), who combines with Springirth at #3 doubles, and Josh Fisher (So., Louisville H.S.).
 
The Pioneers (17-5 overall, 5-0 AMC) will open play at the NAIA National Championships on Monday, May 12th at 1:00 p.m. CDT against Savannah (GA) College of Art & Design.  The Bees ended the season ranked 10th in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll with a 9-7 overall record and are making their second consecutive trip to the national tourney after earning one of 10 at-large berths.  The winner of the Malone vs. SCAD match will then advance to face #7 seed Lindsey Wilson (KY) College in a second-round match on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. CDT.  The event’s quarterfinal round will be held on Wednesday, semifinals will be Thursday, and the tournament will then wrap up with the championship match on Friday at 2:00 p.m. CDT.
 
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