EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - After finishing as the runner-up for six straight years, Greenville University broke through to become the 2022 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's tennis champions. The Panthers topped Principia, their nemesis the last six years, 5-0. 

"Even though we beat Prin in the regular season, we came in today with great respect for them," said Greenville head coach Brett Brannon. "We have been on the other side of these hard-fought matches so many times. As always, Principia fought from the first ball.  But we just knew today that it was our turn." 

Greenville opened the match with a sweep in doubles play. Rafael Rodriguez and Andres Sanchez picked up an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles while the No. 2 team of Clark Kent and Luke Motsinger won 8-6. The No. 3 team of Austin Burkhart and Matt Lehr edged out an 8-7 win, winning 8-7 in a tiebreaker. 

The Panthers needed just two more points as they entered singles play and it would come from the same doubles teammates that edged out a win earlier in the match -- Kent and Motsinger. Playing at No. 3 singles Kent picked up a 6-0, 6-4 win while Motsinger recorded a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles. 

"We knew we had something special from the beginning of the season," said Brannon. "Not just because of the on-court talent of this team, but because of the servant leadership that I saw from our top players. The guys were in it for each other from day 1. When your best players are your hardest workers, coaching is pretty easy." 

This marks the Panthers' first SLIAC men's tennis championship after having previously appeared in eight championship matches. Greenville improves to 19-2 on the season with six different players recording double-digit wins this season.

"Another strength of our team was our depth," said Brannon. "We received contributions from every member of the team. Every guy was capable of winning as part of the varsity lineup."

The Panthers will now await the NCAA Division III tournament selections coming in the days ahead.