MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg won its second straight North Atlantic Conference (NAC) championship on Saturday, May 5.  What makes this year's win sweeter than the last?  This year's title comes with the league's first-ever automatic NCAA Tournament bid.  The Lions, champs of the West Division, bested East Division winner Colby-Sawyer 6-3 in Latham, NY over the weekend to earn the tennis program's first trip to the NCAA's Regionals.

The blue and white gained the early advantage in doubles play when the Lions' number one pair in NAC West Player of the Year Josh Cartmill (Carlisle, PA/Cumberland Valley) and Evgeny Matigullin (New Bloomfield, PA/Susquenita) downed the Chargers' duo of Reeve Fidler and Nolan Foley 8-2.  Penn State Harrisburg also picked up a default victory in the number three doubles match.

Leading 2-1 heading into singles competition, the Lions showed no let up as the title match wore on.  Matigullin, a second-team all-conference honoree, won a tough three-set contest against Fidler 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in the number two slot while all-conference first-team selection Vinnie Lepore (Chepachet, RI/Ponaganset) topped Colby-Sawyer's Nolan Foley 6-3, 6-4 in the number three singles showdown to clinch Penn State Harrisburg's second straight crown.  Another West Division first-team honoree in Tyler Loy (Annville, PA/Annville Cleona) took care of business in the number five matchup with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the Chargers' Paul Holland.  Vishnu Gopalakrishnan (Ashburn, VA/Briar Woods), the division's Rookie of the Year, earned a final default victory for his team.  It was simply the icing on the cake.

Penn State Harrisburg will now face Grove City (11-4 overall) in the first round of the NCAA's Division III Men's Tennis Championship Tournament on Friday, May 11 at regional host institution Johns Hopkins University.  The quarterfinals and finals of the tourney takes place Monday, May 21 through Saturday, May 26 at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, NC.  The team tournament will be held first with the individual portion taking place later in the week.