This season, Penn College tennis teams have had unprecedented success, and third-year coach David Straub is hopeful that it continues on Saturday as both of his squads enter the United East Conference playoffs seeded third.

In 6:30 p.m. matches on their home courts at the Central PA Tennis Center in South Williamsport, the men (5-2 UE and 7-6 overall) will host sixth-seeded Lancaster Bible College (2-5, 2-9) and the women (6-3 UE, 7-10 overall) will entertain seventh-seeded Penn State Brandywine (5-5 all UE, 7-8).

Men

With five conference victories, the Wildcats have their best single-season UE win mark ever, and their seven overall wins going into a nonconference match on Friday against McDaniel College ties a program-best previously achieved in 2015 and 2018.

When the two teams met on April 14, Penn College won, 5-2.

In another first-round match on Saturday, No. 4 Penn State Berks (4-3 UE) hosts No. 5 Penn State Abington (3-4). The Penn College-LBC winner will face No. 2 St. Mary’s (Md.) College (6-1), and the Berks-Abington winner will face No. 1 Penn State Harrisburg (7-0) on Wednesday. The championship is set for Sunday, May 3.

During conference singles play, Kyle Shuler, of Williamsport, is 2-4 at No. 1; Josh Myers of Hughesville is 2-5 at No. 2 and No. 1; Logan Ogden, of South Williamsport, is 4-3 at No. 3 and No. 2; Matt Williams, of Pompon Lakes, New Jersey, is 5-1 at No. 4 and No. 3; Avery Hawk, of York Springs, is 4-3 at No. 5 and No. 4; Valentino Barillaro, of Selinsgrove, is 2-1 at No. 6 and No. 5; and Christian Abromovage, of Exeter, is 0-3 at No. 6.

Shuler-Myers are 3-3 at No. 1 doubles, and Ogden-Williams are 3-2 at No. 2 doubles, with various other combinations making up the No. 3 team.

WOMEN

The women’s six-win UEC and seven-win overall marks are the best in program history dating to 2013-14.

In a Wednesday play-in, Brandywine defeated No. 6 Penn State Berks, 4-2. During the regular season, the Wildcats lost to Brandywine 4-3, although they forfeited one singles and one doubles match.

Saturday’s other first-round match pits No. 5 Lancaster Bible College (6-3 UE) at No. 4 Cairn University (6-3). The Penn College-Brandywine winner will play No. 2 Penn State Harrisburg (7-2) on Tuesday, and the Cairn-Lancaster Bible winner will play No. 1 St. Mary’s (Md.) College (9-0), also on Tuesday. The championship is scheduled for Sunday, May 3.

Throughout the season, the team has seen numerous lineups, depending on player availability for each match. Ellen Buckley, of Binghamton, New York, is 3-4 in conference outings all at No. 1 singles; Lauren Peck, of South Williamsport, is 4-0 at No. 2 and No. 1 singles; Faith Murray, of Dillsburg, is 8-0 at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4; Leah Vest, of Muncy, is 4-2 at Nos. 1-2-3 and 4; Keira Wene, of Ephrata, is 8-1 at Nos. 3-4 and 5; Cici Miller, of Dover, is 5-2 at No. 4 and No. 6; and Eliza Welshans, of Jersey Shore, is 2-3 at Nos. 4 and 6.

In doubles, Murray-Wene are 3-1, Peck-Buckley are 2-1, and Miller-Wene are 2-2. In all, there have been 10 combinations in UE play.

For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.

For more about the United East, visit the conference website.