Conference Tournament Page / 2010-11 Wilkes Statistics / 2010-11 Manhattanville Statistics

No. 1 Wilkes (10-3, 5-0) vs. No. 2 Manhattanaville College (10-4, 4-1)
Saturday, April 30, 2011 / 1:00 p.m.
Ralston Athletic Complex / Edwardsville, PA

WILKES-BARRE – Top seed Wilkes University will host second seeded Manhattanville College in the finals of the 2011 Freedom Conference Men's Tennis Tournament this Saturday at the Ralston Athletic Complex courts. The match is set to get underway at 1:00 p.m. following the women's tennis final in the morning. The Colonels are looking for their fourth straight conference crown.

The Colonels got past Manhattanville 8-1 in the regular season meeting at home on April 14. That loss for the Valiants was their only conference setback, as they've combined to defeat the other four teams 33-3 in racking up a 10-4 record, 4-1 in the Freedom.

Jeremy Nolt (Bloomsburg/Central Columbia), a first team all-conference selection, will lead off for the Colonels at No. 1 singles where he'll meet the Valiants Michael Capozzi, the Freedom Conference player of the year. Nolt edged Capozzi in the regular season meeting, winning 7-5, 7-6, helping him put together a 2-1 conference record, going 3-2 in duals this spring. Capozzi is currently 13-3 overall this season, including a 10-2 mark at first singles and a 4-1 record in the conference.

At No. 2, Evan Katz (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) will matchup against the Valiants Dean Tahir. Another singles match won by the Colonels in the first meeting, Katz took the victory 6-3, 6-2, en route to a first team all-conference selection and a 3-1 record at second singles this spring. Tahir has been one of three Valiants to see time at this spot, putting together a 4-5 record in dual action.

Wes McCollum (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) will be lining up for the Colonels at No. 3 and will take on Karim Mahmoud. A highly contested battle in the regular season meeting, McCollum came out on top in three sets, 6-1, 5-7, 11-9. A second team all-conference pick, McCollum saw time at the top three singles spots for Wilkes, excelling at each, including an unbeaten 4-0 mark at third singles. Mahmoud was a first team selection, going 5-4 at third singles, also seeing time at second and fourth, combining for a 4-1 conference record.

At fourth singles, Clarke Freeman (York, PA/Central York) will go up against Manhattanville's Gabriel Pinto. This matchup brought the only Valiants win from the regular season meeting, as Pinto won 6-3, 6-2. Another battle of all-conference selections, Freeman earned a second team nod after going 3-1 in league play, doing most of his damage at No. 3 by going 6-2. Pinto went a perfect 5-0 in the Freedom, and had a 7-2 mark at fourth singles this year.

Dakkota Deem (Montgomery, PA/Montgomery) will square off against Andres Rivera at the fifth spot on Saturday. This was another matchup won by the Colonels in the first meeting, as Deem took it 7-6, 6-2. Boasting a perfect conference record, he also saw most of his playing time this spring at a higher spot, going 4-1 at four, and totaled a 2-1 mark at No. 5. Rivera earned second team honors this spring after going 6-4 at five in dual action.

The No. 6 matchup will feature the Colonels Alex Makos (Mansfield, PA/Mansfield) going up against Chris Lin. Another three-setter in the earlier meeting, Makos won 7-5, 5-7, 10-7, completing his spring with a perfect 4-0 record in conference. He saw playing time at each the fourth, fifth and sixth spot, going a combined 8-4, including a 3-1 record at No. 6. Lin went 3-2 in conference play, and has a 9-5 record at this spot in duals.

On the doubles side, Katz and McCollum will look for another win over Capozzi and Pinto after the hard fought 8-6 victory back in mid-April. The Colonels duo went 8-1 together this spring at first doubles, including a perfect 5-0 conference mark, while Capozzi and Pinto finished 9-2 at this spot, 4-1 in the Freedom.

Nolt and Deem will again go for the Colonels at No. 2 while Manhattanville will feature a different pairing from the first meeting, going with Mahmoud and Tahir. Nolt and Deem went 6-0 at this spot this spring, including a 3-0 record in the Freedom, while the Valiants duo went 3-3 in duals, 1-1 in the conference.

Freeman and Makos will be the Colonels pairing at three while the Valiants will again go with a different team, sending out Rivera and Lin. Another successful doubles grouping, Freeman and Makos went 4-0 in the conference and had a 4-1 record at No. 3. Rivera and Lin were also successful, going 7-1 at three in dual action, and had a 2-0 Freedom record.

The winner on Saturday will not only be conference champions, but will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA national championships.