Men's Tennis Eyes Horizon League Championship

 
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Win two and you're in. The Horizon League South Division champion Belmont University men's tennis program is two match victories from its third NCAA Championship appearance as the Bruins begin their conference tournament title quest Saturday afternoon. The top seed in the South Division, Belmont will face either North Division No. 2 seed Youngstown State or South Division No. 3 seed Tennessee State in the semifinals at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET.
 
Receiving an opening round bye, the Bruins await the winner of Friday afternoon's first-round match between the Penguins (12-10, 6-2 Horizon) and the Tigers (10-14, 6-4 Horizon).
 
Should Belmont come away victorious in Saturday's semifinal dual, the Bruins will play for the 2023 Horizon League Men's Tennis Championship Sunday afternoon with the title match scheduled for 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET.
 
The league's postseason tournament is being held Friday-Sunday, April 28-30 at the Varsity Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
 
Live scoring of both weekend matches will be available at BelmontBruins.com and Sunday's championship match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
The three-day tournament features the top three seeds from the Horizon League South Division and the North Division's top three teams. Cleveland State (19-7) captured the North Division title after going 7-1 against fellow teams in the division. Belmont went 10-0 against South Division competition en route to its second consecutive and fifth overall regular season conference championship.
 
Sweeping third-seeded Tennessee State twice during the regular season, the Bruins also defeated South Division No. 2 seed Tennessee Tech in dominant fashion on March 26 (6-1) and recently on April 15 (7-0). Northern Kentucky (12-10, 4-4 Horizon) enters the weekend as the North Division No. 3 seed but dropped both of its regular-season matches against North Division No. 2 seed Youngstown State by a 4-3 decision. The Norse were also edged 4-3 versus the top-seeded North Division Vikings on April 15.
 
Although Belmont hasn't faced Cleveland State, the Penguins or Northern Kentucky, the Bruins won three doubles matches and six singles contests against Youngstown State in a hidden dual at the Beaman Family Tennis Complex this past September.
 
On Thursday, four different Belmont players were named All-Horizon League and head coach Mauricio Antun picked up his second-straight and fourth overall coach of the year honor. Graduate student Marko Ilic and junior Alfred Wallin were both tabbed All-Horizon League First Team, while junior Tomas Luis and sophomore Ian Cruz were named to the second team.
 
The Bruins are seeking their third conference tournament title in program history, winning the ASUN Conference championship in 2006 and claiming the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Championship.
 
Having won 12 in a row, Belmont is 19-5 on the season and is looking to extend its single-season win record this weekend.
 
The 2023 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship selection show will air on NCAA.com this Monday at 5:30 p.m. CT. The 64-team NCAA championship gets underway with first and second rounds at campus sites next Friday-Sunday, May 5-7.
 
Follow Belmont men's tennis on social media – @BelmontMTennis on Twitter and @belmontmtennis on Instagram – for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.