CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

HUNTINGDON, Pa. (May 2, 2017) – The Drew University men's tennis team enters the Landmark Conference Championship semifinals as the No. 4 seed on Tuesday, May 2 at top-seeded Juniata College.
 
This is the Rangers' first appearance in the Landmark postseason since winning a 13^th consecutive conference championship in 2013. Drew enters the playoffs with an overall mark of 16-3 with a 5-2 record in league matches. Juniata clinched the top seed with a 6-1 conference record and sports an overall 8-2 grade.
 
Drew handed Juniata its only conference loss on the final day of the regular season on Sunday, a 5-4 win for the Rangers in Madison.
 
Drew's Salikh Gilmutdinov is undefeated at No. 1 singles in dual matches this season at 17-0. He will face the Eagles' top singles player Dean Polisena, whom Gilmutdinov beat in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday. Gilmutdinov will also join sophomore Will Morrison at second doubles hoping to repeat an 8-3 victory from two days ago.
 
The reigning Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year, Vineet Vemulapally, continued momentum into his sophomore year with a 17-2 dual match record in 2016-17. He will take on Juniata's Roy Liberman in a rematch from Sunday that ended 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 in Drew's favor.
 
Vemulapally and freshman Geoffrey Diehl could swing this semifinal matchup at first doubles, where they just defeated Polisena/Liberman at No. 1 doubles on Sunday in a tight 9-7 match. The Ranger duo is 13-1 together this season, but just 2-1 at the top doubles spot.
 
Morrison will take on Juniata's No. 3 in singles looking to avenge a 6-2, 6-2 loss on Sunday. The Drew sophomore is 13-6 overall and 4-3 in league play.
 
Diehl has one of the most crucial matches of the day at No. 4 singles. He did win his 18^th singles match of the year on Sunday over Juniata, but the Eagles' normal No. 4 did not compete. Daichi McAuliffe-Uch will return on Tuesday with an 8-1 record at the fourth singles spot this season.
 
Juniata scored wins on Sunday at fifth and sixth singles over freshman Bryce Weizer and sophomore Kevin Shulca, respectively. Weizer, who has played No. 6 this season at a 6-3 clip, moved up a spot and looks to win his 13^th singles match in his playoff debut. Shulca is 8-8 overall and pushed the Eagles' No. 6 to three sets before falling two days ago. The Ranger pair will also combine at third doubles, where they lost to Juniata, 8-3 on Sunday.
 
The other semifinal matchup will feature No. 3 Goucher College at No. 2 The University of Scranton. The winners of the semifinals will meet in the championship on Saturday, May 6 at the highest remaining seed. All matches in the postseason are played to decision, meaning the winning team will have five points and any ongoing matches will be unfinished.