TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Earlham College will meet in a matchup of the teams picked first and second in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason men's tennis poll on Sunday at noon at the Wabash Valley Tennis Center. Rose-Hulman has won four consecutive HCAC regular season and HCAC tournament championships, while Earlham has been the HCAC tournament runner-up three times in the last four seasons.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Sun., March 31st - RHIT vs. Earlham - Noon (Wabash Valley Tennis Center)
ROSE-HULMAN NEWS & NOTES (2-9, 1-0 HCAC)
* Ian Landwehr is ranked No. 13 individually in the Central Region in the March 28 ITA player regional rankings. Landwehr is 9-4 overall and 8-3 in dual matches against the outstanding schedule RHIT has played.
* As a team, Rose-Hulman is ranked No. 19 in the ITA Central Region rankings published March 28.
* RHIT has faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation this season, including three top 25 ranked NCAA Division III teams, two NCAA Division II teams and one NCAA Division I squad.
* Andre Adam and Joshua Giambattista have six wins in singles matches to rank second on the team.
* 31st year head coach Dan Hopkins will retire following the 2019 season. Hopkins has crossed the 300-win threshold on the men's side and has over 450 combined men's and women's victories at Rose-Hulman.
* The men's tennis team has won four straight HCAC championships and made four straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances entering 2019.
* Rose-Hulman has won 40 consecutive matches against HCAC competition and has not lost to an HCAC opponent since May 2014. RHIT began the 2019 HCAC schedule with a 9-0 win at Defiance on Saturday.
THE OPPOSITION
* Earlham stands 7-6 overall and has been runner-up to Rose-Hulman in the HCAC three times in the last four years, making Sunday's match a key league contest.
* Aitor Zerdilas-Herrera leads Earlham with 10 singles wins this season. Jason Lawson has added nine singles wins. Both players have won their last six matches.
