Army West Point Athletics
Sunday, May 1
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 PM
Army West Point
4
vs
3
Navy
Men’s Tennis Defeats Navy, Wins Patriot League Title
May 01, 2016 | Men's Tennis
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A remarkably close contest for the Army West Point men's tennis team against Navy fittingly came down to a third set tiebreaker in the fifth singles flight on Sunday in the Patriot League Championship. The Black Knights avenged a loss to the Midshipmen from eight days ago as junior Kyle Barnes won 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) in the decisive match to claim a 4-3 win and the program's ninth league title and seventh NCAA Tournament berth.
"It was an exciting match," said Army head coach Jim Poling. "It's always fun to play and compete against Navy. I thought we competed hard and it was a great match, one of the best matches we've played in a while.
Barnes had three opportunities at match point before winning in the third set tiebreaker.
"Kyle hung in tough and was competitive," stated Poling. "He was a grinder."
Freshman David Mitchell earned Tournament MVP honors. The IMG Academy product went 3-0 in the third singles flight including overcoming a first set loss today to even the championship match at 2-2. Mitchell ultimately won 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
The Black Knights took a brief lead after that. Junior Grant Riechmann, playing against his former high school classmate Thomas Pecor in the second singles position, had to fight through another grueling three set match. Riechmann won 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 7-5.
Navy would tie the match back up at 3-3 with a win in the sixth singles slot before Barnes' win to take the match. The Black Knights other victory came from sophomore Michael Nguyen who won 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in the fourth flight.
When the two teams met last Saturday, April 23, it was the Mids who won three of the top four singles flights. On Sunday afternoon, it was the Cadets who took three of the top four flights.
Army will now move on to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in school history. The Black Knights boast an 18-8 overall record.
For up-to-date information on Army men's tennis visit GoArmyWestPoint.com or follow @ArmyWP_MTennis on Twitter.
"It was an exciting match," said Army head coach Jim Poling. "It's always fun to play and compete against Navy. I thought we competed hard and it was a great match, one of the best matches we've played in a while.
Barnes had three opportunities at match point before winning in the third set tiebreaker.
"Kyle hung in tough and was competitive," stated Poling. "He was a grinder."
Freshman David Mitchell earned Tournament MVP honors. The IMG Academy product went 3-0 in the third singles flight including overcoming a first set loss today to even the championship match at 2-2. Mitchell ultimately won 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
The Black Knights took a brief lead after that. Junior Grant Riechmann, playing against his former high school classmate Thomas Pecor in the second singles position, had to fight through another grueling three set match. Riechmann won 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 7-5.
Navy would tie the match back up at 3-3 with a win in the sixth singles slot before Barnes' win to take the match. The Black Knights other victory came from sophomore Michael Nguyen who won 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in the fourth flight.
When the two teams met last Saturday, April 23, it was the Mids who won three of the top four singles flights. On Sunday afternoon, it was the Cadets who took three of the top four flights.
Army will now move on to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in school history. The Black Knights boast an 18-8 overall record.
For up-to-date information on Army men's tennis visit GoArmyWestPoint.com or follow @ArmyWP_MTennis on Twitter.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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