Allegheny Championship Photo courtesy of Ed Mailliard

MEADVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Top-seeded Allegheny College defeated visiting Grove City College 4-0 Monday afternoon in the 2025 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Tennis Tournament Championship match, giving the Gators their third consecutive conference championship.

Allegheny, who is ranked No. 74 nationally in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, secured the doubles point with 6-1 wins at all three doubles flights. The first final came at No. 1 where freshman Kristian Janci (Kysucké Nové Mesto, Slovakia/The British International School Shanghai) and senior Anton Hedlund (Hovas, Sweden/Katrinelundsgymnasiet) closed out the win. The victories at second doubles by freshman Olivier Erkens (Gouda, Netherlands/Coornhert Gymnasium) and freshman Arick Baldwin (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood) and third doubles by junior Benedek Kaibas (Salgótarján, Hungary/Mikszáth Kálmán Gimnázium) and freshman Levente Mihaly (Békéscsaba, Hungary/Békéscsabai SZC Széchenyi István) ended nearly simultaneously and the Gators were in front 1-0 heading into singles play.

The Gators would quickly secure three singles points to clinch the win and the program's seventh PAC championship. Allegheny was up a set in five of the six matches when three went final, starting with Baldwin scoring a 6-0, 6-0 victory at fifth singles. Hedlund was next to finish 6-1, 6-0 triumph at second singles and the clinching decision was at fourth singles, where freshman Javier Bejarano Jimenez (El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain/IES Padre Luis Coloma) won 6-0, 6-1. 

The win improved the Gators to 20-6 for the season, leaving them one win away from the program record for single-season wins that has stood since the 1995-96 season. It also completed Allegheny's second three-peat in PAC men's tennis history, as the Gators won three straight conference crowns from 1980-82 during their first stint in the conference. Allegheny has won all three PAC men's tennis titles since returning to the conference prior to the 2022-23 season.

Following the final, Hedlund was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the third consecutive season and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Bejarano Jimenez and Janci. Grove City (11-5), who finished as the Tournament runner-up for the third year in a row, had two players on the All-Tournament Team in junior Isaac DeMan (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) and freshman Allen Morris (Perry, Ohio/Perry).

Allegheny also clinched the conference's automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Team selections for the Division III Championships will be announced on Monday, May 5 with first-, second- and third-round matches slated for Friday-Sunday, May 9-11.


2025 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Tennis Championship Tournament
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, April 22, 2025
No. 4 Saint Vincent 4, No. 5 W&J 1 - Box Score
No. 3 Franciscan 4, No. 6 Westminster 0 - Box Score

Semifinals - Thursday, April 24, 2025
No. 2 Grove City 4, No. 3 Franciscan 0 - Box Score
No. 1 Allegheny 4, No. 4 Saint Vincent 0 - Box Score

Championship - Monday, April 28, 2025
No. 1 Allegheny 4, No. 2 Grove City 0 - Box Score