WINONA LAKE, Ind. - For the third straight year, Grace’s men’s tennis team reigns supreme. The Lancers have put together quite the run over the last three seasons, going 33-0 in Crossroads League play during the regular season and conference tournaments.
Grace made its fifth-straight tournament final and the second time in three years it has faced Huntington in the final match. History repeated itself again on Saturday with the Lancers knocking off the Foresters 4-1 to claim the title and earn a berth in the NAIA tournament in May.
Grace (11-0, 8-0 CL) started the match on the right foot by snatching the doubles point to set the tone. Artur Pons and Luis Cordoba won the first match of the day, going 6-3 in their match. The doubles point was clinched when Pablo Gregori and Salva Pons came out on top 6-2. THe other match with Manuel Marques and Roko Misura did not finish.
In singles play, the home team needed just three points to hoist the trophy. Pablo Gregori came through at No. 1 singles to increase the lead to two. He won with relative ease 6-0, 6-3.
Huntington cut the deficit in half with a point from court three, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the way.
Grace picked up the last two points in straight sets, sending the team into jubilation. Benjamin Rahine trailed early in the first set, but was able to turn things around going 7-5, 6-1 in the No. 5 slot to put his team on the verge. Manuel Marques secured the final point and title with his 7-6(4), 6-2 showing on court six. Then the celebration began with the Lancers raising the trophy.
The Lancers will take a break from courts and continue their season in the spring as they prepare for the NAIA tournament. It will be Grace’s fourth appearance in five years at the national tournament.

No. 10 Knights Hand Grace Road Defeat
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Grace’s women’s soccer team came up empty while playing its second ranked match of the week.
The Lancers (9-2-1, 1-2-1 Crossroads League) fell 2-0 at No. 10 Marian, wrapping up a week of ranked road matches.
The Knights (9-2-2. 2-1-1 CL) scored a goal each half to edge out Grace’s upset bid.
Grace had a season-low eight shots in the match, but the Lancers did have a 4-3 edge in corner kicks.
With 15 minutes left in the half, Grace produced its first threatening attempt. Cassidy Felger blasted a long shot that resulted in a diving stop by Marian’s goalkeeper.
Grace collected two more corner kicks and another shot from Rylee Burns across the next five minutes, but the Knights denied those chances.
Marian then took advantage of a defensive miscue from Grace, scoring against the run of play to go ahead in the 35th minute.
Neither side could find a shot over the next 10 minutes, resulting in Marian’s 1-0 lead at halftime.
Just over six minutes into the second half, Grace’s deficit grew. The Knights attacked directly and scored quickly to go ahead by two.
Midway into the half, Grace’s confidence seemed to reach a climax. The Lancers created several chances over a 12-minute span.
Grace had three free kicks in the final third of the field to go along with a corner kick. The best chance came from Lilli Oberhoff, who tried a deep shot that bounced off the crossbar.
Felger had a few more attempts in the second half, and Feline Abbo had a shot blocked in the penalty box.
But Grace’s offense could not puncture the Knights’ defenses, and the Lancers were dealt the defeat.
Grace has one match next week, playing host to St. Francis on Saturday at 5 p.m. Saturday will also be Grace’s Senior Night.

Lancers Downed On Homecoming
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Grace College’s men’s soccer team dropped its homecoming match 3-1 to Marian on Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers (3-6-2, 2-2 CL) finished the game with more shots and corner kick opportunities, but were unable to match the Knight three goals as they dropped the Crossroads League matchup.
To begin the match, the Lancers possessed the ball almost exclusively. The Knights (9-2-2, 2-1-1 CL) were content to absorb Grace’s possession for the first 15 minutes.
The Lancers struggled to generate a threatening chance as the Knights’ defense remained organized.
Despite a dominant advantage in possession, it was the Knights who struck first in the 31st minute. Marian scored on a quick, direct attack to stun the Lancers.
Grace’s best chance was a free kick from Juan Garcia in the closing minutes.
Marian nearly struck again when they were awarded a penalty kick for a handball in the box. But Matteo Conci did well to save the PK with a diving stop.
Grace went into halftime behind 1-0 after totaling just two shot attempts.
The second half began similarly with Grace controlling the ball, including a few more threatening build-ups.
But the Knights were awarded their second penalty kick of the game, and MU converted to double the lead.
Grace’s efforts were further hampered when the team was reduced to 10 men after a red card was issued in the 59th minute.
Marian took advantage, tacking on a third goal in the 66th minutes by capitalizing on a counterattack.
The Lancers answered back with a goal eight minutes later when Kyle Holwerda scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Grace continued to press offensively and with 5:15 left, the Lancers’ pressure caused Marian into a foul which resulted in a red card for the Knight which evened the game at 10 players apiece.
Juan Garcia and Joao Laranjo each had shots in the waning moments but they were unable to draw any closer as they fell 3-1.
Grace finished the game outshooting Marian 12-7 and had two more corner kicks opportunities. The teams combined for 36 fouls in the game.
Next time out Grace will travel to Fort Wayne to take on St, Francis on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Grace’s Winning Streak Snapped In Fort Wayne
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The nine-match winning streak for Grace’s volleyball team finally was snapped on Saturday.
The Lancers lost a pair of hard-fought matches against Cornerstone and Indiana Tech to wrap up a nonconference tournament in Fort Wayne.
Against Cornerstone, the Lancers’ offense sizzled in the first three sets. Grace racked up 16 kills in the opening set during a six-point win.
The Golden Eagles responded with a six-point win of their own in the second set to even the match.
The third set saw Grace charge ahead 17-9. CU made Grace sweat with a rally, pulling to within one at 20-19.
But the Lancers secured the 25-23 win after three late kills from Anna Elkin.
Cornerstone forced a fifth set, however, executing down the stretch to win 25-19 in the fourth.
Grace’s offense struggled to get on track in the fifth set as the Lancers suffered the 3-2 defeat in the match.
Anna Ballengee (18 kills) and Elkin (15 kills) led Grace’s attack, and Jadyn Ross had eight kills.
Riley Owens (23 assists, 11 digs) and Morgan Syoen (20 assists, 12 digs) posted double-doubles, and McKenzie Stakely (15 digs) and Olivia Martinez (13 digs) highlighted Grace’s back row.
The Lancers began the final match of the weekend well against Indiana Tech.
Grace routed the Warriors in the first set, winning 25-16 with Syoen acing on the final point.
The Warriors echoed Grace’s effort and also won by nine in the second set.
The third set was a nailbiter. The Warriors erased a late lead with six unanswered points. The teams traded points over the final few rallies, but Indiana Tech’s lead was enough as they held on to win 25-23.
The Warriors’ momentum carried into the fourth set. They scored the first four points of the set.
Grace soon answered with a 7-1 run, but the Warriors countered with a 6-0 spurt to regain control.
Grace tried to erase the deficit late with a pair of kills and a block from Livia Tate, but the Warriors secured the victory at 25-22.
Brea Harris tied for the team lead with nine kills, hitting at a .261 percentage. Alisha Voss had 9 kills, 1 solo block and 2 block assists.
Elkin collected eight kills with seven digs, Tate had five kills with four block assists, Stakely recorded 16 digs, and Syoen posted 14 assists, 12 digs and 2 aces.
The Lancers will be home twice next week. Grace will host the defending NAIA champions No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Goshen on Saturday at 1 p.m.