The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team defeated Detroit Mercy 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Valpo Tennis Complex, in the process clinching the program’s second consecutive outright Horizon League regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament.

The Crusaders finish the regular season at 21-3 overall and 7-0 in league play, notching their second consecutive season without a league loss.

“We’re all elated that we were able to repeat,” Valpo head coach Jim Daugherty said. “We took care of the match that we had in front of us today. Detroit Mercy came ready to play. They had a lot of emotion because they knew something was on the line for them as well.”

Valpo will receive a bye in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament and will play the winner of a first-round match between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the semifinals on Saturday, April 29 at 10 a.m. CT in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Sunday’s clinching match was intense early, as the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles showdowns were both tightly contested. Kyle Dunn (Fond du Lac, Wis. / Fond du Lac) and Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio / Poland) grabbed a 6-1 win over Kacper Stelmaszak and Adam Zychoiwicz at No. 3 doubles, but the Crusaders trailed on both other courts and needed to win one to take the doubles point.

Valpo was down 4-3 at No. 2 doubles and 6-5 at No. 1, but the No. 2 duo of Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill. / Niles North) and Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) roared back for a 7-5 win over Chane Conley and Patryk Koscielski. The No. 1 doubles match went unfinished with Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg) and Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) deadlocked 6-6 with Nathan Ponton and Artem Vasheshnikov.

“The doubles point was a dog fight right up to the end, especially at No. 1, where it was very much up in the air,” Daugherty said. “We’ve got a couple guys that aren’t 100 percent, but our players took care of business today.”

Singles started favorably as Brandon Ancona dispatched Conley at No. 6 in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. Ancona finished the regular season 21-9, 4-0 in league play.

“Brandon was flawless, running right through his opponent,” Daugherty said. “When he came off that quickly, that gave the team a lot of energy. It helped create momentum.”

Schorsch topped Vashesnikov 6-0, 7-5 at No. 1, finishing the regular season at 19-1 in dual matches and 7-0 in Horizon League play. Schorsch did not drop a set in league activity this season, and finishes the regular season with 109 career singles wins and 111 career doubles victories.

“Jeffrey was dominant,” Daugherty said. “He’s been the rock for the team, coming through whenever we need a win.”

The Crusaders also picked up wins at No. 2 and No. 5 singles. Kissell topped Koscielski 6-3, 7-5 at No. 2, while Dunn won the final home match of his collegiate career 6-0, 6-4 over Zychowicz.

“Chad is playing well, and Kyle was very dominant,” Daugherty said. “He had a rough beginning of his second set, but he pulled it back together to finish that set strong.”

Emhardt fell 6-4, 2-6, 10-7 to Stelmaszak in a three-set thriller at No. 4, while Bacalla dropped his match to Ponton 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3.

During the break between the end of doubles and the start of singles, the program recognized its four-member senior class as Dunn, Bacalla, Emhardt and Schorsch played the final home match of their Valpo careers on Sunday. The most successful class in program history helped the Crusaders set the school record for wins their freshman, sophomore and junior seasons. Valpo needs two more wins to shatter that record yet again this year. The seniors have truly rewritten the program record books, as they rank one through four in program history in both career singles and doubles wins.

“I had a lot of emotions going,” Daugherty said. “I’ve enjoyed these seniors so much. They’ve been tremendous assets to the program. The whole Senior Day thing is a reality check. We’re in the home stretch here. I’m trying to enjoy the moment. That’s helped me to sit back and not think too much about the next day or the future or anything else, just enjoy this while it’s here.”