Lake County takes Region 4 men's tennis crown

PALOS HILLS, ILL - The College of Lake County claimed its second Region 4 title in five years on April 24 at Moraine Valley Community College, winning the 2021 NJCAA Region 4 Division 1 Men's Tennis Tournament. The Lancers, who had finished as runners-up in 2018 and 2019, were able to get back atop the mountain by besting second place Sauk Valley Community College by eight points. Jim Love of CLC was named the Region 4 Coach of the Year, while the Skyhawk's Preston Engel was awarded the Region 4 Player of the Year by winning the #1 Singles Flight.

The College of Lake County registered 20.5 points, followed by SVCC at 12.5 points and third place Illinois Valley Community College at 6.5 points. 

Engel defeated Victor Dieltens of Prairie State, 6-2, 6-3, to finish off his run to the single championship. In Flight #2, Bill Friedman of CLC needed tie-breaker to get by Jedrzej Brodski from PSC. Prairie State College took the top spot in the next three flights, with Hesley Masfasare (Flight #3), Richard Ngwarwi (Flight #4), and Miquel Ferreira (Flight #5) all winning in two sets. Jack Murrie of Lake County gave the Lancers another single champ with a straight sets win in Flight #6.

In doubles, Friedman and Houd Azhar teamed up to give the College of Lake County the Flight #1 crown in two sets over Prairie State College. The Pioneers got revenge in Flight #2 with a Mafasare and Brodski win against the a CLC tandem. Finally, the Flight #3 crown went to Sauk Valley's Jonathan Rhodes and Imanol Aburto.

2021 Region 4 Division I Men's Tennis Final Results

The 2021 NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships will be held May 17-21 at Collin College in Plano, Texas.

The NJCAA canceled the 2021 Division III Men's Tennis Championships due to a lack of teams during the Covid-19 Pandemic, and thus, there was no Region 4 Division III Men's Tennis Tournament.