MEADVILLE, Pa. -- The top-seeded Allegheny College men's tennis team punched its return ticket to the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) championship as the Gators took down fourth-seeded Franciscan University, 5-1, in the semifinals on Thursday.

The Gators (14-5) will host Grove City College, the No. 2 seed, in the PAC Championship Tournament finals on Saturday, April 27, at 1:00 p.m. in a rematch of the 2023 finals.

Thursday's win marked Allegheny's second over the Barons (8-11) in the past week. In their penultimate regular-season match on April 18, the Gators defeated Franciscan, 8-1, to clinch the PAC regular-season title.

Allegheny opened with a 2-1 lead after defeating the Barons in the top two doubles contests. Anton Hedlund (Hovas, Sweden/Katrinelundsgymnasiet) and David Rodriguez (St. Ann's, Trinidad & Tobago/Fatima College), playing first doubles, were the first tandem off the court with an 8-2 win. The other two doubles matches were heavily contested, and the team of Samuel Sabol and Callahan Hecton overcame a 5-2 deficit to secure Franciscan's only point with an 8-6 win.

In singles action, Will Jarvie (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) and Reid Stasolla (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) - a late entrant into the No. 6 spot after a last-minute lineup change - earned points in the third and sixth singles spots with identical 6-2, 6-0 victories. Guillaume Emiliano Loinard-Gonzalez (Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico/Universidad Jefferson Morelia) then won the deciding match. The senior, who jumped up to the No. 5 singles match, dropped only one game in the first set and won the final three games in the second set for a 6-1, 6-2 triumph.

Doubles Results
1. Anton Hedlund / David Rodriguez def. Travis Mistry / Aidan Palladino, 8-2
2. Will Jarvie / Benedek Kaibas def. Aaron Heinlein / Christopher Yvars, 8-6
3. Samuel Sabol / Callahan Hecton def. Evan Nelson / Guillaume Emiliano Loinard-Gonzalez, 8-6

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

Up Next
Allegheny will host Grove City, the No. 2 seed, in the 2024 PAC championship match with the right to punch its ticket to the NCAA Division III Championships on the line. The finals are scheduled for Saturday, April 27, at 1:00 p.m. at the Robertson Athletic Complex.