[Men's Tennis Championships Page]

Semifinal - [Grinnell 5, Lake Forest 0]
Semifinal - [Monmouth 5, Carroll 1]
Final - [Grinnell 5, Monmouth 2]

MADISON, Wis. – Grinnell added to its men’s tennis championship record with a 5-2 victory over Monmouth in the team portion of the 2014 Midwest Conference Men’s Tennis Championships. The team championship is Grinnell’s 11th straight and 17th overall.

Grinnell fell behind a 2-1 lead after doubles play in the championship match and fought back by winning four singles matches to clinch the championship. Monmouth earned a pair of doubles victories via the teams of David Johnson and David Stewart (No. 1, 9-7) and Derek Rineberg and Chris Franco (No. 2, 8-6). Grinnell bounced back with an 8-3 win in the No. 3 doubles flight with the team of C.J. Ray and Cole Miller.

After a tight doubles series the Pioneers dispatched of the Fighting Scots by winning four singles matches. Emilio Gomez won 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 2 flight while Tommy Pitcher won in the No. 4 flight 6-1, 6-1. Tracy Johnson won in the No. 5 flight 6-3, 6-2 before Ray won his singles match in the No. 6 flight 6-4, 6-0.

Grinnell earned a spot in the championship game by defeating Lake Forest earlier in the day while Monmouth downed Carroll. The Pioneers won by a 5-0 margin with Monmouth defeating Carroll 5-1. Grinnell moves its record to 31-5 while Monmouth ended its season with a 13-13 mark. With the championship Grinnell earns the Midwest Conference automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins next month.

The championship weekend continues through the weekend as the singles champions will be crowned on Saturday and the doubles champions will be decided on Sunday at the Nielsen Tennis Center in Madison, Wis.