Pioneers Look to Continue Dominance at HCAC Men’s Tennis Championships

HCAC Men's Tennis Tournament Page

Men's Tennis Tournament Program

April 24, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS , IN – The 2008 men’s tennis season will come to a close this weekend, as the HCAC championships will be held this Saturday and Sunday in Indianapolis. This year’s tournament will be hosted by Rose-Hulman and held at the West Indy Racquet Club in Indianapolis. Transylvania will look to claim the school’s sixth straight HCAC championship, earning the conference’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament that begins May 2.

The Pioneers (8-0 HCAC) enter the 2008 tournament riding a 40 match win streak in conference play. Transy has been led by Parker Gregory (Louisville, KY/St. Francis) at the No. 1 singles and doubles position this spring, posting an 11-0 overall conference record. Teaming up with Gregory at the No. 1 doubles position has been sophomore Kyle Clayton (Owensboro, Ky./Catholic) . Clayton has racked up a 9-0 conference record, including his efforts at No. 4 singles. Sophomore Lee Gammon (Chattanooga, Tenn./Baylor) and freshman Collin St. Clair (Hartford, Ky./Ohio Co.) have been solid all season long for the Pioneers. Gammon finished 5-1 at No. 2 singles and posted a perfect 4-0 mark in No. 2 doubles action. His doubles partner St. Clair finished 10-0 on the conference season, finishing 6-0 in singles play. Transy defeated their first round opponent, Bluffton (1-7 HCAC), 7-2 during the regular season.

Franklin College (7-1 HCAC) will look to dethrone Transylvania as the supreme team in the HCAC this weekend. Franklin and Transy met back on April 5, with the Pioneers claiming a 9-0 win over the No. 2 Grizzlies. Franklin has been led by freshman Matt Hamm (Batesville, Ind./H.S.) and junior Jace Redman (Mt. Vernon, Ind./H.S.) this season. Hamm has posted a 6-1 conference mark at the No. 1 singles position and a 6-1 record at No. 2 doubles. Redman finished 5-2 at No. 2 singles and held a 5-1 mark in No. 3 doubles action.

Rose-Hulman (6-2 HCAC) will look to pull off a string of victories to claim the conference crown. Sophomores Michael Schoumacher (Memphis, Tenn.) and Scott Grubbs (Wildwood, Mo.) have been steady for the Engineers squad this season. Schoumacher finished the season with an 11-3 record at No. 1 singles and doubles, while Grubbs finished 10-4 overall at No. 2, 4 singles and No. 1 doubles. Rose-Hulman’s two conference losses were to the top two seeds in the conference, Transylvania and Franklin. RHIT fell to Transy 7-2, while falling to Franklin 5-4.

Action will get underway Saturday morning at 8:00 AM, with the championship match being held Sunday afternoon.