Only Eagles Stand Between Gophers, Landmark Crown

TOWSON, Md. — Form held as the top two seeds in the 2016 Landmark Conference Men's Tennis Championship were victorious in Wednesday's semifinals, setting up a rematch between Goucher and Juniata in the finals on Sunday.

The Gophers, who went 8-0 against Landmark Conference opponents during the regular season to earn the No. 1 seed, pinned a 5-0 setback on Scranton, while the second-seeded Eagles knocked off Catholic, 5-0.

Goucher, which prevailed 6-3 in its head-to-head encounter with Juniata during the regular season, will host Sunday's championship match, scheduled to begin at noon.

A win by head coach Brendan Kincaid's squad on Sunday would make Goucher the fourth different school to claim the Landmark title in the sport of men's tennis over the past four years. It would also be the first conference championship in the 28-year existence of the institution's men's tennis program.

Juniata, which is making its third consecutive appearance in the Landmark finals, defeated Goucher, 5-3, for the 2015 conference title.

Dean Polisena, the two-time defending Landmark Player of the Year, will play at first singles for the Eagles against Joey Caracappa (Smithtown, N.Y./Saddlebrook Preparatory School). Back on April 10, Caracappa registered a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Polisena.

The rest of Goucher's singles line-up will be: Jack Hodges (London, England/Shrewsbury School) at No. 2, Seth Hoesman (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) at No. 3, Elliot Diehl (York, Pa./York Suburban) at No. 4, Midori Fujitani (Tokyo, Japan/International School Bangkok) at No. 5 and Josh Goldberg (Centreville, Md./Queen Anne's County) at No. 6.

The winning team in Sunday's match will receive the Landmark's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.