ERIE, Pa. – No. 2 seed Penn State Altoona men's tennis blanked No. 3 seed Mount Aloysius College 5-0 on Saturday evening in the semifinal round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament at Westwood Racquet Club.

With the win, Penn State Altoona (13-4) earns a berth to compete in the AMCC Championship match for the second straight year. The Lions will face top seed Penn State Behrend for the conference crown tomorrow, Sunday, April 23 at 1:30 p.m.

Saturday's win represented a record-breaking occasion for the Penn State Altoona men's tennis program. By achieving their 13th overall win of the 2022-23 season, the Lions set a new program record for the most wins in a season, surpassing the previous mark of 12 wins which was established by the 2000 team.

Additionally, sophomore Casey Hess (Annville, PA/Annville-Cleona) broke the Penn State Altoona men's tennis program's single-season wins record for singles matches, winning in No. 2 singles on Saturday to reach 13 victories this season and set a new team record. Hess set the previous record of 12 singles wins last season.

Penn State Altoona opened Saturday's AMCC semifinal match by winning all three doubles matches to grab a 3-0 lead over Mount Aloysius (5-7). In No. 1 doubles, the pair of Joey Toth (South Park, PA/South Park)/Hess earned an 8-1 victory for their eighth overall doubles win of the season. In the No. 2 spot, Nick Beard (Manns Choice, PA/Bedford)/Ethan Schneider (Broad Top, PA/Tussey Mountain) also notched their eighth doubles win together, as the duo prevailed 8-4 over their opponents. The Lions clinched the doubles sweep thanks to an 8-3 win in the No. 3 match by the team of Emmett Hibbs (Richfield, PA/East Juniata)/Parth Raval (Mumbai, India/Thakur Polytechnic), who picked up their fifth doubles win together.

In singles, Penn State Altoona recorded two quick wins to end the match once the overall decision was reached. Hess won 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 2 spot for his team single-season record 13th victory of the season, and Beard provided the match-clinching point for Penn State Altoona in No. 3 singles, where he won 6-3, 6-0 for his 11th victory of the season.

Now, Penn State Altoona will battle Penn State Behrend tomorrow afternoon in a rematch of last year's AMCC Championship match. Behrend was the winner of that contest, coming away with a 5-1 victory over the Lions.

Penn State Altoona will be looking for its first AMCC title since the 2006 season. The Lions men's tennis program has achieved six AMCC Championship wins in program history.