ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's tennis team opened its postseason with a 5-2 victory over Pitt-Greensburg on Saturday afternoon in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinal round match at Westwood Racquet Club.

The Lions (5-7), the top seed in the tournament and AMCC co-regular season champions, now advance to the conference championship match tomorrow, Sunday, April 24, at 1:30 p.m. Penn State Altoona will face second seed Penn State Behrend for the conference title.

Penn State Altoona established a 2-1 lead over four seed Pitt-Greensburg (3-7) by winning the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches. In the No. 2 doubles match, Casey Hess (Annville, PA/Annville-Cleona)/Micah Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PA Cyber) earned their team-best sixth win together this season by posting an 8-0 whitewash of their opponents. In the No. 3 spot, Jake Irwin (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg)/Kirk Eichenlaub (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) prevailed 8-4 for their second victory of the season.

Pitt-Greensburg picked up another point with a No. 1 singles win, but Penn State Altoona ended the match as soon as it reached decision by recording victories in the No. 3, 5, and 6 singles matches.

Hess prevailed 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 3 singles match for his team-leading 10th singles win of the season, which also moves him into a tie for the second-most singles wins in a season in Penn State Altoona men's tennis history. Irwin recorded his fourth victory of the year with a 6-2, 6-0 triumph in the No. 5 match, and Eichenlaub bagged his eighth win of the season in the No. 6 match, where he claimed a 6-0, 6-1 victory.

The No. 2 and No. 4 singles matches ended with unfinished results as soon as Penn State Altoona reached five points.

Next, Penn State Altoona looks ahead to tomorrow's AMCC championship match, which represents a shot at the program's seventh conference title and its first since 2006. The winner of Sunday's match will also secure a berth to compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament in May.