Lancers Secure Win Over No. 25 Oakland City

WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace's men's tennis team secured an NAIA ranked win on Friday.

The No. 17 Lancers defeated No. 25 Oakland City by the score of 5-2 at the Don Cramer Tennis Courts.

The win officially wraps up the regular season for Grace. The Lancers will take a seven-game winning streak and an overall record of 21-5 into the 2024 NAIA National Championships.

The NAIA tournament is scheduled for May 14-18 in Mobile, Ala. Grace qualified by winning the Crossroads League regular season and postseason tournaments during the fall season.

Grace trailed early after a nailbiting doubles' battle between the sides. Pablo Gregori and Salva Pons won 6-3 at No. 1 doubles. But the Mighty Oaks won the final two doubles' matchups, including a narrow 7-6 win at No. 3.

But Grace quickly corrected the score with a series of singles' wins. Gregori battled to a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 2, and Manuel Marques won 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5.

OCU kept the score even with a win at No. 6, but Grace won the final three courts — all in three sets.

Gallego at No. 1, Pons at No. 3 and Luis Cordoba at No. 4 all muscled their way to wins in three sets, putting an exclamation mark on Grace's regular season.

"Today was a great team effort. Our two freshmen (Luis and Manuel) played great matches, and Javi again led us with a good win at number one," said Grace head coach Andy Lewis. "Pablo is playing lights out, and Salva showed his mental toughness today. We beat a very good team today who should be ranked even higher in the polls. Our team showed that we're a very good singles' team as well today. We are excited to continue building until NAIAs."

The Lancers now have seven wins so far over teams who were ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA poll.

Grace will make its fourth (and second straight) trip to the NAIA tournament in team history in May.