Baron Tennis Defeats Reigning Champ to Win AMCC Crown

WEXFORD, Pa.—The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference men's tennis championship needed a tiebreaker to decide the 2011 champion. Tied at the top with 18 points apiece was three-time defending champion Penn State Behrend and Franciscan University of Steubenville in just its second year of competition. The tiebreaker determined Franciscan the winner in its first ever AMCC men's tennis championship.

The tiebreaker criteria established by the AMCC looks at which team won the most singles and doubles flights combined on the weekend, and Franciscan held that edge over the defending champs, 4-3.

"What a way to end our season," said Baron head coach Curtis Allen. His team went 9-1 overall on the season with their lone loss coming at the hands of Behrend in their second match of the year. "This was the cherry on top of an already successful season. To go 9-1 in the regular season and bring home the banner is amazing. It's pretty surreal. I couldn't be more proud of my guys. I know all coaches say that, but I really mean it."

The star duo of freshman Leonel Lacayo and Luke Merry won the No. 2 doubles flight, while Paul Jarzynka, Brian Robau and Merry won the No. 2, 3 and 4 singles respectively. The Barons were represented in six of the nine championship matches on Sunday, winning four of them.

Merry played a crucial role in Franciscan's championship weekend, as he mounted a comeback in his effort to win the No. 4 singles final match (4-6, 7-5, 6-1).

But individual statistics is not what Coach Allen emphasized after the historic victory. "All six of my guys played a huge part for us to be conference champions and I think that's what is so cool about it," he said. "My guys are on cloud nine right now. I don't think they will stop smiling all week, and they have every right to be that way."

Allen was confident in his team from the start, and he remembered before the year starting expressing his confidence to his team by telling them they had a good shot at winning the AMCC championship. "They thought I was crazy," Allen said. "They told me tonight they remember me saying that and [they remembered] not believing me. They proved me right this weekend; we shocked the world. It was an amazing season."