The Valpo men's tennis team's quest for a Horizon League Championship took a critical step Saturday by knocking off Green Bay on its home court. The Crusaders won the doubles point before collecting victories at No. 1, 3, 4, and 6 singles to defeat the defending-champion Phoenix, 5-2, at the Western Racquet & Fitness Club in Wisconsin.

Freshman Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) and junior Kyle Dunn (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac) downed GB's Matej Kostadinov and Miles McDowell, 6-3, at No. 3 doubles to record the first result of the day. The 87th-ranked tandem of Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) and Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) came through for the Brown and Gold at No. 1 as they outlasted the Phoenix pair of Leo Gomez Islinger/Florian Kraenzler by a score of 7-5.

Green Bay evened the match 1-1 thanks to Charlie Ridout's 6-3, 6-2 win over Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio/Poland) at No. 5 singles. Dunn quickly got the Crusaders back on top at No. 6 following his 6-3, 6-3 triumph versus Joey Leto. Schorsch rose to the occasion at No. 1, toppling Howard Scott, 6-2, 6-4. 

Kissell clinched the victory for the Crusaders by virtue of his 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 3 versus Kraenzler. 

Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) fell 6-0, 7-6 (5) to Islinger at No. 2, but Emhardt rallied for a 1-6, 6-2, 10-4 victory to provide the icing on the cake. 

Valpo (16-5, 2-0 Horizon) has now been victorious in 12 of its last 13 matches. The Crusaders will return to Indiana where they'll face UIC (8-7, 1-0 Horizon) next Friday. First serve is slated for 1:00 pm at the Valpo Tennis Complex, weather permitting.