5-07-2024 12:26pm

GOUCHER AGAIN IN

Jeff Barto Editor

Men's Tennis to Take On Stevens in NCAA Opening Round Friday

The Gophers will compete in a regional hosted by Washington & Lee

INDIANAPOLIS - The Goucher College men's tennis team will take on MAC Freedom champion Stevens Institute of Technology in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship in a regional hosted by Washington & Lee University. That match is set to take place on Friday, May 10 with a time to be announced.

Goucher is making its sixth NCAA appearance in program history and its first since 2022 after winning the program's sixth Landmark Conference tournament title. The Gophers downed Drew 5-2 on Sunday. Goucher is 14-8 overall and has won seven in a row and 10 of its last 11, with the lone setback coming to Division II Kutztown on April 10.

Stevens, which is ranked No. 45 in the ITA Division III rankings, enter the NCAA tournament on a four-match win streak. The Ducks downed Lebanon Valley 5-0 on Saturday to earn the MAC Freedom's automatic berth into the field. Stevens has won four straight MAC Freedom crowns and 14 conference titles in a row overall.

Goucher and Stevens last met on March 20, 2019, a 5-4 Gopher win in Orlando.

The remainder of the Washington & Lee Regional consists of No. 4 Emory (16-5), No. 13 Sewanee (20-4) and the hosts Generals (17-7), who are ranked No. 28. The Stevens/Goucher winner faces Emory on Saturday while W&L squares off with Sewanee on Saturday. Saturday's two winners meet on Sunday with a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals on the line.

Goucher has a 4-5 record all-time in its five previous NCAA trips. In its most recent appearance in 2022, the Gophers downed Lebanon Valley in the first round before succumbing to third-ranked Tufts in the second round.