STEUBENVILLE, Ohio -- The Allegheny College men's tennis team clinched the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming PAC Championship Tournament with an 8-1 win over Franciscan University on Thursday.

Allegheny (12-5, 7-0 PAC) has won seven consecutive matches, all against conference opponents, and is one win shy of repeating last spring's undefeated PAC schedule. The defending PAC champions secured a first-round bye in the PAC Championship Tournament and will host a semifinal match at the Robertson Athletic Complex on Thursday, April 25.

Thursday's result snapped a three-match win streak for the Barons (6-9, 4-2 PAC), who put up a much tougher fight than the final score might indicate.

The Gators swept all three doubles matches, but the duo of Will Jarvie (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) and Benedek Kaibas (Salgótarján, Hungary/Mikszáth Kálmán Gimnázium) needed a tiebreaker to win in the second spot, 8-7 (4).

For the first time in conference action, Allegheny's top singles player, Anton Hedlund (Hovas, Sweden/Katrinelundsgymnasiet), dropped a set. Hedlund fell to Travis Mistry, a two-time All-PAC First Teamer, in the opening set, but rebounded for a 6-1 win in the second and a 10-3 in the tiebreaker.

David Rodriguez (St. Ann's, Trinidad & Tobago/Fatima College) also faced a challenge from Aaron Heinlein in the No. 2 position. Rodriguez handed Heinlein his first conference loss of the spring in a competitive 7-5, 6-4 victory.

Jarvie and Kaibas also improved to 7-0 in PAC singles matches with wins at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

Doubles Results
1. Anton Hedlund / David Rodriguez def. Travis Mistry / Aidan Palladino, 8-3
2. Will Jarvie / Benedek Kaibas def. Aaron Heinlein / Christopher Yvars, 8-7 (4)
3. Guillaume Emiliano Loinard-Gonzalez / Evan Nelson def. Samuel Sabol / Callahan Hecton, 8-4

Singles Results
1. Anton Hedlund def. Travis Mistry, 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (3)
2. David Rodriguez def. Aaron Heinlein, 7-5, 6-4
3. Will Jarvie def. Christopher Yvars, 6-3, 6-1
4. Benedek Kaibas def. Aidan Palladino, 6-4, 6-2
5. Callahan Hecton def. Evan Nelson, 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (4)
6. Guillaume Emiliano Loinard-Gonzalez def. David Bourdelais, 6-0, 6-3

Up Next
Allegheny concludes the regular season at Thiel College on Sunday, April 21, at noon.