By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: Cat Scholl
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – This Sunday the Juniata College men's tennis team will have a chance to play for the programs' first Landmark Conference title. The Eagles advanced to the championship match after qualifying as the No. 1 seed in the tournament with a perfect 7-0 league record and a 5-1 semifinals win over Moravian College. Juniata will host the No. 2 seeded Cardinals of Catholic University of America on Raffensperger Tennis Courts at noon April 27.
The Cardinals qualified as the No.2 seed in the tournament with a conference record of 6-1, 11-8 overall, suffering the only league loss of the season to Juniata back on April 15 in the first Landmark match of the season. The Eagles came away with the 6-3 win taking two of three doubles and four of six singles. On that day freshman Dean Polisena (Adelaide, Australia / Saint Ignatius) came back from a first set loss to claim No. 1 singles with a 7-0 super tiebreak win, handing Juan Lorido of Catholic his first loss of the season.
Prior to that match, Catholic had won the last four meetings between the two teams and the Cardinals now hold the 5-2 series lead over Juniata since the foundation of the Landmark. Senior Justin Wisniewski (Moorestown, N.J. / Moorestown) earned the win at No. 4 singles against Catholic this year, 6-1, 6-3. The victory gave Wisniewski his fifth in a week and he has since gone on to a perfect 18-0 record in dual match play. Sophomore Logan Moore (Chadds Ford, Pa. / Unionville) has only one blemish on his singles record at 16-1.
The No. 3 pairing of senior Elliott Perow (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon Area) and sophomore Mike Lifshitz (Worcester, Mass. / Worcester Academy) has been the driving force for the Eagles in doubles matches. The duo has compiled an overall 15-2 record and has won eight of the last 10 matches. Perow was the first Eagle to earn Landmark Conference Player of the Week honors for the 2013-14 season (Sept. 30) and since then Polisena, Moore, and Wisniewski have all claimed the recognition.
Both teams will be fighting for the first ever conference crown while six-time defending champion Drew University missing out on a postseason spot. Juniata is making the teams' third appearance in the Landmark postseason and first in the championship match. Catholic has qualified for the postseason five of the last seven years and in 2008 reached the championship match as the number two seed, ultimately falling to top seeded Drew 9-0.
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