EDWARDSVILLE – The Wilkes University men's tennis team saw eight of 11 flights advance to the finals on the first day of the King's College Tournament held at Kirby Park and Ralston Athletic Complex courts Saturday afternoon.
 
In doubles play, No. 1 pair Xavier Bleiler (Mountain Top, PA/MMI Prep) and Otarhe Okoh (Shakopee, MN/Shakopee) advanced to the finals after a first round bye and a semifinal win over Penn College. At No. 2 doubles, Cole Riley (Louisville, KY/Xavier) and Landon Gleichauf (Naples, NY/Naples) claimed two wins to move into the finals after a first round victory over Marywood followed by a semifinal win against Lycoming. The Colonels final doubles team to advance was at No. 3 as Luke Meissner (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) and Thomas Farnsworth (Granby, CT/Granby Memorial) moved into the semifinals after a bye before besting Misericordia.
 
Five different Colonels moved into finals play in singles action including Riley (No. 1), Okoh (No. 2), Gleichauf (No. 4), Farnsworth (No. 5) and Meissner (No. 6).
 
After a first round bye, Riley won over Penn College to reach the top spot finals. Okoh went 2-0 on the day with wins over King's and Marywood in the semifinals. Gleichauf was another two-match winner with victories over Misericordia and King's to move into the finals. Farnsworth went 2-0 with wins over Lycoming and Marywood while Meissner posted wins over Marywood and Misericordia to also reach the title match Sunday.
 
Finals begin on Sunday at 9:00 a.m.