ANNAPOLIS, Md. (pacathletics.org) - For the second year in a row, the Allegheny College men's tennis team is advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championships.

The Gators (21-6), ranked 71st in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) polls, defeated Nichols College, 4-0, in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Championships on Friday afternoon at the United States Naval Academy's Brigade Sports Complex. The match was relocated from Johns Hopkins University to Navy's indoor facility due to rain in the Baltimore area.

With the win, Allegheny will now face No. 7 Middlebury College in the second round on Saturday, May 10, at 11:00 a.m. It marks the second consecutive season in which the Gators and Panthers will meet in the regional rounds. Last spring, AC swept Messiah University in the opening round before ending its postseason with a loss to Middlebury, which hosted the regional tournament in Vermont.

Allegheny began Friday with identical 7-5 wins in the second and third doubles matches against the Bison (12-12). After the Gators dropped the No. 1 doubles contest, Anton Hedlund (Hovas, Sweden/Katrinelundsgymnasiet) and David Rodriguez (St. Ann's, Trinidad & Tobago/Fatima College) secured their victory in the third spot, before Arick Baldwin (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood) and Kristian Janci (Kysucké Nové Mesto, Slovakia/The British International School Shanghai) clinched the doubles point in the No. 2 match.

Janci then made quick work of Nichols' top singles player, Richard Hartmann Luzio. Janci lost only one game in each set en route to a 6-1, 6-1 straight-set decision. Trailing 4-3 in his second set, Hedlund won the last three games to finish his 6-3, 6-4 victory. Rodriguez also ended his match-clinching showdown with Kerem Subasi in consecutive sets, 6-4, 6-4.

Doubles Results
1. Caio Dieckmann / Richard Hartmann Luzio def. Levente Mihaly / Benedek Kaibas, 6-2
2. Arick Baldwin / Kristian Janci def. Enzo Matos Balleux / Kerem Subasi, 7-5
3. Anton Hedlund / David Rodriguez def. Felipe Gonzalez / Rodolfo Hernandez, 7-5

Singles Results
1. Kristian Janci def. Richard Hartmann Luzio, 6-1, 6-1
2. Anton Hedlund def. Jose Nunez, 6-3, 6-4
3. Levente Mihaly vs. Leon Zeis, 6-4, 3-6 (unfinished)
4. David Rodriguez def. Kerem Subasi, 6-4, 6-4
5. Javier Bejarano Jimenez vs. Enzo Matos Balleux, 3-6, 6-1, 0-1 (unfinished)
6. Olivier Erkens vs. Caio Dieckmann, 6-2, 3-3 (unfinished)

News and Notes

• The Gators tied a team record for most wins in a season with 21, matching the 1995-96 team that went 21-5.
• Allegheny won an NCAA tournament match and advanced to the second round for the second year in a row.
• The second-winningest student-athlete in Allegheny men's tennis history, Hedlund earned his 151st and 152nd career wins against the Bison.
• Hedlund tied Patrick Cole '14 for second on the career doubles leaderboard with his 78th victory.
• Hedlund also moved into a three-way tie with Cole and Tyler Triolo '16 for the most doubles wins in a season with 25.

Up Next
No. 71 Allegheny will face No. 7 Middlebury in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Championships. With sunny skies in the forecast for Saturday, the match will be held outdoors on the campus of regional host Johns Hopkins in Baltimore at 11:00 a.m.

Contributed by Allegheny Athletic Communications / Photo contributed by Ryan Murray/davidsinclairphoto.com