Men's Tennis | 4/21/2026 9:20:00 PM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Third-seeded Franciscan University won on its home court, while fifth-seeded Washington & Jefferson College earned a road victory, as both teams advanced through the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Tennis Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon.
With their 4-2 victory over visiting Geneva College, Franciscan (8-13) moves on to play at No. 2 Grove City College (8-4) in a 3 pm semifinal on Thursday. W&J's 4-3 triumph at Saint Vincent College will have the Presidents (6-11) on the road again Thursday, this time traveling to No. 1 Allegheny College (15-7) for a 4 pm semifinal.
The semifinal winners will face off in the PAC Tournament Championship match on Saturday, April 25, hosted by the highest remaining seed. First serve will be at 1 p.m. for the title match. All Tournament matches will use the seven-point team format with the first team to four (4) individual match wins advancing.
The winner of the PAC Championship Tournament earns the conference's automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.
PAC Quarterfinal 1 - Latrobe, Pa.
No. 5 W&J 4, No. 4 Saint Vincent 3
- The teams traded doubles wins with Saint Vincent winning at No. 2 (6-3) and W&J drawing even with a victory at No. 3 (6-4). Saint Vincent secured the doubles point with a 7-6 (3) win at No. 1 by junior Braden Yokopenic (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) and freshman Blaise Bukovac (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe).
- The Presidents bounced back with three straight wins in singles, all in straight sets. Freshman Colby Peters (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) was a 6-2, 6-3 winner at No. 5 and W&J took the lead when senior Jackson Akers (Logan, W.Va./Logan) scored a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win at No. 2.
- The Presidents' lead grew to 3-1 when senior Nate Clarke (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) closed out a 7-6 (0), 6-4 victory at third singles.
- The Bearcats (14-6) clawed their way back to tie the match at 3-3 after junior Brady Johnson (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) (2-6, 6-1, 6-1) and Yokopenic (7-6 (5), 6-3) battled for wins at No. 4 and No. 1, respectively.
- The match came down to a third set at No. 6 singles, where W&J junior Nick Bussard (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) ended the nearly three-hour long match with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4) victory to send the Presidents to the PAC semifinals for the first time since 2019, which was the last time W&J won the PAC title.
- It also marks the first time a lower seeded team has won in the PAC Quarterfinals since No. 5 Westminster knocked off No. 4 Geneva in the 2021 quarters.
PAC Quarterfinal 2 - Steubenville, Ohio
No. 3 Franciscan 4, No. 6 Geneva 2
- Franciscan swept the three doubles matches, including a 6-3 decision at No. 1 by junior Aaron Heinlein (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and junior Christopher Yvars (Bow, N.H./Bow), to go ahead 1-0 in the match.
- Geneva picked up a pair of wins in singles play, including junior Thayne Bodenmiller (Westfield, NY/Westfield Academy and Central School) winning 6-1, 7-5 at No. 4 and freshman Evan Hancock (Beloit, Ohio/West Branch) posting a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 6.
- Franciscan would win straight-set decisions at the top three flights to advance, first with Heinlein (7-6, 6-0) at No. 1 and then a 6-3, 6-1 win by senior David Bourdelais (Vienna, Va./Paul VI Catholic) at No. 3.
- The Barons punched their ticket to Grove City when Yvars emerged with a 7-6, 7-5 win at second singles, making it six straight years Franciscan has advanced to the semifinals.
PAC Semifinal Notes
- Allegheny and W&J will meet for the second time in less than a week after the Gators scored a 7-0 win over the Presidents on April 18th.
- Three-time defending champion Allegheny is seeking its fourth consecutive conference crown since rejoining the PAC prior to the 2022-23 academic year. A W&J win would put the Presidents in the title match for the first time since the 2019 championship season.
- While Allegheny and W&J just played, the Grove City/Franciscan regular season match was nearly a month ago. The Wolverines won by a 6-1 count on their home court back on March 24th.
- This is the second year in a row the teams have faced in the semifinals, with Grove City advancing to the championship match with a 4-0 victory over the Barons.
- A Grove City victory would put the Wolverines in the title match for the seventh consecutive year. A Baron win would put Franciscan in the final for the first time since 2021 when they lost to Grove City.