WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College men's tennis team cruised to a 5-0 victory over Thiel College in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon. 

The Presidents (13-3), the tournament's top seed, earned a 5-0 win over the eighth-seeded Tomcats (1-11). The match was played to decision due to inclement weather forcing the two teams indoors.

W&J swept the three doubles matches as Nate Wang (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) and Sam Bellini (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) won 8-4 at first doubles while Stephen Mehlbaum (Sellersville, Pa./Pennridge) and Max Perilstein (Glenside, Pa./Cheltenham Township) breezed to an 8-0 win at second doubles. Josh Hnat (Dubois, Pa./Dubois) and Ruchir Gupta (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central) claimed an 8-1 victory at third doubles. 

In singles play, wins by Mehlbaum (6-0, 6-0) at third singles and Hnat (6-0, 6-0) at fifth singles ended the match. 

This year's championship features the implementation of a team bracket format, with Tuesday's quarterfinal round, Friday's semifinal round and Saturday's third-place and championship matches. The PAC had sponsored a flighted championship, with individual players and doubles pairings exclusively seeded and not based on a team's regular-season finish, since the league's first championship event in 1956. 

Friday's semifinals and Saturday's third-place and championship matches will be hosted by W&J at its on-campus Janet Swanson Tennis Center, which has served as the home site for its tennis programs since 2015. This weekend's matches will utilize the nine-point team scoring format with matches played to decision (first team to five flight wins).

Top-seeded W&J will face Wednesday's Waynesburg-Bethany winner Friday at 1 p.m., while Saint Vincent and Grove City will meet at 4 p.m.  

Saturday's third-place match is scheduled for 1 p.m. with the championship match to follow at 4 p.m.

Please note: The PAC Tennis Championships are scheduled to be played outdoors, if possible. In the event of inclement weather on Friday and/or Saturday, matches will be relocated to the Greensburg Racquet Club (Greensburg, Pa.).

This year's team champion will secure the PAC's automatic qualifying bid (Pool A) to the NCAA Division III Championships. Team selections for the Division III Championships are scheduled to be announced Monday, May 6 with the first, second and third rounds slated for Thursday-Sunday, May 9-12.



 
Singles Competition
1. Nate Wang (WJC) vs. Cole Duskey (THI) unfinished
2. Sam Bellini (WJC) vs. Connor Swatts (THI) 6-0, unfinished
3. Stephen Mehlbaum (WJC) def. Trent Brady (THI) 6-0, 6-0
4. Max Perilstein (WJC) vs. Tyler Feciuch (THI) unfinished
5. Josh Hnat (WJC) def. Christian Conrad (THI) 6-0, 6-0
6. Ruchir Gupta (WJC) vs. Tyler Novak (THI) 6-3, unfinished
 
Doubles Competition
1. Nate Wang/Sam Bellini (WJC) def. Cole Duskey/Trent Brady (THI) 8-4
2. Stephen Mehlbaum/Max Perilstein (WJC) def. Connor Swatts/Tyler Novak (THI) 8-0
3. Josh Hnat/Cole Hartman (WJC) def. Tyler Feciuch/Christian Conrad (THI) 8-1