Easton, MA - Led by ECC Player of the Year Alex Grubin (pictured) the Concordia College men's tennis team defeated ECC rival Queens College 5-1 today in the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championships at Stonehill College in Easton, MA. The win vaults the Clippers to the NCAA Round of 16 for the fourth straight season.

The 12th ranked Clippers opened the match with a convincing 8-0 triumph at #1 doubles by sophomore Alex Grubin (Belgrade, Serbia) and senior Rodrigo Teixeira (Vitoria, Brazil) over Marcelo Kim and Taylor Crabill. The Clippers would lead 2-0 when the duo of sophomore Henning Ruenz (Muelheim-Kaerlich, Germany) and junior Josep Molet (Sabadell, Spain) defeated Robby Scheuing and Ariel Nassim 8-2 at #3 doubles. The Knights would get back into the match at #2 doubles. Fabio Minami and David Burstein defeated Vlad Malkin (Moscow, Russia) and Kirill Azovtsev (St. Petersburg, Russia) by a score of 8-3.

With Concordia leading 2-1 after doubles play, the Clippers only needed to win three of the six singles matches in the race to 5 to advance to the next round. Molet would put Concordia up 3-1 with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Kim at #2 singles. Grubin, who is the top ranked singles player in NCAA Division II men's tennis, finished next to give Concordia a 4-1 win. Brubin beat Minami at #1 singles 6-0, 6-2. Needing just one more victory to seal the win, Ruenz came through at #5 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Scheuing, as the remaining singles matches went unfinished once the Clippers reached five wins.

The Clippers improve to 18-2 on the season, while the Knights end their season at 12-7 overall. The Clippers will be making their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Round of 16. Last season, the Clippers fell to the Spartans of the University of South Carolina-Upstate 5-2 in the NCAA Round of 16 in Altamonte Springs, FL.

Up next for Concordia will be the 3rd ranked Argos of the University of West Florida in the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Round of 16. The Argos defeated the 8th ranked Tigers of Ouachita Baptist 5-2 in their second round match in Pensacola, FL. The Clippers and Argos will battle on Wednesday, May 14th in Houston, TX at Memorial Park. The action begins at 4:00 PM.