ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley women's tennis team will play for a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom title this week as the second seed in the conference tournament. The Dutchmen will host third-seeded Misericordia University in the semifinals on Tuesday at the Shankroff Tennis Center.
 
The Dutchmen enter the postseason as the second seed for the second consecutive season and will play Misericordia in the semifinals for the third straight year. LVC went 14-4 during the regular season, including a 5-1 record in conference matches. The Dutchmen earned a convincing 6-1 victory over Misericordia in Dallas back on April 11 and have won three consecutive matches over the Cougars. The squad's only conference defeat came at the hands of top-seed and defending conference champion, Stevens Institute of Technology, on Sunday by a 6-1 score. Stevens defeated the Dutchmen 4-0 in last year's MAC Freedom Championship match. Stevens will play fourth-seeded DeSales in the other semifinal pairing on Tuesday at the Bayonne Tennis Courts in Bayonne, New Jersey. The winners will meet on Saturday at the site of the higher seed. Admission to all matches is free.
 
LVC has gone an exceptional 26-7 in singles play and 12-4 in doubles play during conference matches. Sarah McComas and Catherine Stone have each played three conference matches at the number one singles slot and two conference matches at the number two singles slot. Stone is having an excellent junior season with a 13-2 dual record and a 3-2 mark in conference play. She played number two in the regular season match with the Cougars, picking up a quick straight sets victory, and dropped her match at number one singles against the Ducks. McComas is 8-9 in dual matches overall and 3-2 in conference play this year. She dropped a close three-set match against Misericordia's top student-athlete back on April 11.
 
Megan Martin has been strong at number three singles with a 7-4 dual record and 2-1 mark in conference play. She earned a convincing win in the match against Misericordia and battled tough in her match against Stevens. Erika Badner is having a great year at number four singles with a 9-6 dual record and 2-1 conference mark. The sophomore earned a big win in the match against the Cougars and went three sets on Sunday at Stevens.
 
Katie Berra has held down the number five singles spot with an outstanding 11-2 dual mark and 4-1 record in conference play. The sophomore won her match against the Cougars in straight sets and dropped a hard-fought match against the Ducks. Laken Kelly earned LVC's lone point against Stevens with a big three-set victory on Sunday. The sophomore is 11-3 in duals this season with a 3-0 mark in conference matches. She is 5-2 when playing at number six.
 
LVC's double combinations based on the last match are expected to be Badner and Stone at number one, McComas and Denbowski at number two, and Berra and Martin at number three. Badner and Stone have an impressive 6-3 record as partners this season, including a 3-2 mark in conference matches. They earned a 6-1 victory over Misericordia earlier this season. Martin and Berra played in the number two slot against the Cougars and won 6-1, but played number three against Stevens. The duo is 7-3 as partners this year and is 1-1 in conference matches. McComas and Denbowski and 4-3 as partners and an impressive 4-1 in conference play. They had a 6-3 victory at number three against the Cougars, who played number two against the Ducks.
 
Stevens has won the past four MAC Freedom titles. The Dutchmen are looking for their first conference title since 2023, when they won their second consecutive MAC Commonwealth Championship. LVC has played in a conference title match in four out of the last five years.

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