Indianapolis, Ind. –The Transylvania men's tennis team opened the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament with a 5-1 victory over the No. 5 seed Franklin College Grizzlies at the West Indy Racquet Club on Friday night.

The victory improves Transylvania's record to 10-11 on the season and sends the Pioneers to the HCAC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2016.

With the loss, the Grizzlies' season comes to an end with a record of 7-11.

Friday afternoon served as the first-ever conference tournament appearance for all six Pioneers. Despite the new frontiers, the youthful lineup wasn't fazed by the new atmosphere as they started the day aggressively.  

The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead over the Grizzlies after doubles play thanks to an 8-0 victory by the team of Arjun Gupta and Hugo Kouhkna in the No. 1 doubles match, and an 8-1 win via Nick and Noah McNamee at No. 2 doubles.  

The freshman Gupta opened singles play with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Blake Amonett from Franklin in the No. 1 singles match.

In the No. 2 singles match, another freshman in Kouhkna cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Franklin's Jacob Zachary to put the Pioneers ahead 4-1 in the match.

Nick McNamee clinched the opening round match for the Pioneers with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Ty McCory at No. 3 singles.  

The Pioneers will now face the No. 1 seed Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers in the HCAC semifinals tomorrow afternoon. The matchup between the Pioneers and the Fightin' Engineers is set for a 1:00 p.m. start at the West Indy Racquet Club.

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