WINONA LAKE – With a sweep of St. Francis on Saturday morning, Grace College’s men’s tennis team made history by finishing tied for first in the Crossroads League standings. The Lancers (7-2; 7-1 CL) earned a share of the regular-season league title for the first time since 1989. “I could not be happier for our guys. We’ve waited a long time from last year’s disappointment at the end of the season,” said Grace head coach Larry Schuh. “We put in a lot of work since last year, and we were very hopeful to be in this exact position to win conference.” Grace swept through doubles competitions, winning 24 of 29 games en route to an early three-point advantage. Nikola Todorovic and Michael Blevins won 8-1 at No. 1 doubles, Daniel Sanchez and Aaron Blevins blanked their opponents 8-0 at No. 2 doubles, and Jack Wang and Michael Humphrey won 8-4 at No. 3 doubles. Grace needed just two singles points to clinch the league title, and they got both at the top two spots. Sanchez won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, and Michael Blevins clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles. Aaron Blevins at No. 3 singles and Wang at No. 5 singles dropped only one game in their two-set victories, and Humphrey won 6-0, 6-2 at No. 4 singles. Senior Josh Beguin wrapped up Grace’s scoring with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 6 singles. The Lancers earned the No. 2 seed in the Crossroads League Tournament, which starts on Tuesday. Grace will play seventh-seeded Taylor at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Miller Field. With a win, Grace will advance to the semifinals at home on Thursday before the tournament championship match on Saturday. The winner of the Crossroads League Tournament receives an automatic berth into the NAIA National Championship from May 14-18 in Mobile, Ala.
MEN’S SOCCER WINONA LAKE – Grace’s men’s soccer team remained unbeaten in Crossroads League play with a 3-0 victory over Goshen College on Saturday. The Lancers (7-2-1; 2-0-1 CL) proved to be too much offensively for Goshen as Grace held a 24-6 shot advantage over the Maple Leafs (6-4-1; 1-1-1 CL). The teams started evenly on the warm Saturday afternoon with each side taking early chances at the goal. Grace broke onto the scoreboard first in the 12th minute of play. Trent Smith directed the offense in the middle of the field, passing a ball through Kyle Hamlin’s legs which fell to Gift Sibukome in the penalty box. With a defender on his side, Sibukome drilled his shot above the goalkeeper’s head for the first goal of the game. The Lancers’ midfield began to control play in the later stages of the first half, resulting several strong offensive possessions for Grace. With 80 seconds remaining in the opening half, Devin Kemmerer started a run on the left side of the field before passing the ball off to Shane Barthuly. Barthuly then weaved his way between two Maple Leaf defenders and rifled his goal to the near post. The second half was controlled even more completely by the Lancers as Grace’s midfield dictated play for most of the final 45 minutes. The Lancers outshot the Maple Leafs 12-3 in each half, and Grace netted its third goal of the match 10 minutes after halftime. Steven Fiema redirected an airborne ball to Nikola Blazic deep in the penalty box. As Goshen’s goalkeeper anticipated a low shot from Blazic, the sophomore midfielder flicked a header over top of the goalie and into the net. Austin Altimus, who finished with four shots, nearly added a fourth goal when he laced a 26-yarder off the far post later in the second half. Smith and Blazic led all players with five shots, and Barthuly added four shot attempts. Collin Cone recorded the shutout in goal for the Lancers with two saves in 90 minutes. For the season, Grace now has six shutouts in 10 games. The Lancers will travel to Indianapolis, Ind., for their next league match on Tuesday with Marian at 7:30 p.m.
