Lycoming College tennis player Jason Mifsud became the first player in the history of the Warriors' program to win an individual Middle Atlantic Conference tennis championship on Sunday.
The top-seeded Mifsud, a Montoursville graduate, won a pair of matches in straight sets to win the title at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre.
"I was stoked. I?don't show that much emotion on the court, but after that one, I threw my hands up in the air," Mifsud said. "It was a lot of weight off. I?usually don't like to be seeded No. 1 because it's added pressure, but to win it for coach (LeRoy) Baer was really nice."
In the semifinals, Mifsud defeated Elizabethtown's Eric Fritzges, 6-4, 6-2. In the finals, he avenged a loss from last year's MAC?quarterfinals by beating Wilkes' Steve Wilson, 6-4, 6-1.
The MAC?title wraps up a season in which Mifsud went 7-1, including earning a pair of wins at the ITA?Southeast Regionals B-2 flight. He became the first Warrior in school history to reach the semifinals of a flight at the tournament.
"Jason's been prepared for this weekend," Baer said. "He has worked extremely hard for this. He played in tournaments all summer and played in a USTA league. He put a lot of hard work in."
Mifsud concluded the fall season with a 37-11 career record. The 37 wins are already a school record.
"The first match against Fritzges, I hadn't played him since his freshman year, but I remember he was a big hitter," Mifsud said. "I woke up groggy and got out to a slow start, but I started to wake up and got it done. In the finals, against Wilson, I knew I had to put balls into his backhand and force him to use that. It went really well."
"Jason was not missing. He broke Steve twice in the first set and that led to the victory," Baer said. "Then with the score, 4-1 in the second set, he broke him and got to serve for the match. He pulled it off. It was fantastic to watch."
The Lycoming tennis spring season begins March 25 against Juniata.
