The big event this weekend is the men’s individual tennis tournament at Wilkes and King’s. Saturday will be windy, but the Sunday matches should have ideal fall weather. Things kick off at 9 AM each day. On Saturday Wilkes hosts football between the two sets of courts so fans and teams will need to park in the Kirby Park lot and walk through the park to the courts. Most of last year’s top players return, including many champions. At #1 singles, Ken Ip, Manrique Arrea (lost at #1 to Jansen Hein, Messiah), Ethan Grodzinski, Bobby Brown, and Julian Oribe return and will be joined by Nate Bauer, Kevin Langner, Tim Carroll, Fred Hockenbury, and Jeremy Nolt (won #3 last year) who have all moved up the ladder. Returning players at #2 singles include Jed Spangler, Bryan Arnett, Josh Riehl, Tom Neckelmann, Alex Beattie (runner up at #2 in spring 2010), Michael Capozzi (won last tournament at this spot), Frank Nutt, and Evan Katz. Jason Mifsud stays at #3 where he was runner-up last time out. Wes McCollum (Wilkes) won at #4 last year and moves to #3 this fall. Manhattanville’s Andres Rivers beat Evan Katz (Wilkes) at # 5 in spring 2010; Katz is now at #2 and Rivera at #3. At #6 singles last year, Manhattanville’s Karim Mahmoud defeated Wilkes Clarke Freeman – both these players are at #5 this year.

MAC football has the bottom half of the conference (four teams at 0-2) and the top half (four teams at 2-0) competing – the result after Saturday: two 3-0 teams and two 0-3 teams. It wasn’t that long ago that the Lycoming/Widener game often determined the conference champion. While the winner still has to face nationally ranked DVC, a lot is on the line. The Widener (3-2, 2-0) rushing defense is second to DVC in yards allowed (74.4), but they will have their greatest challenge of the year trying to stop the Warrior’s (4-1, 2-0) Josh Kleinfelter (171.2 YPG). The Aggies (4-1, 2-0) have dominated FDU and LVC the last two weeks, but they travel to Wilkes (3-2, 2-0) to face the determined Colonels. Frank Sheptock’s team has come from behind against Albright and Lebanon Valley the last two weeks. This will be an even stiffer challenge for the Colonels as DVC leads the conference in almost every defensive and offensive category. The Wilkes rushing defense has given up more yards than any MAC school, but has faced two of the league’s top rushers (Ben Guiles, LVC and Josan Holmes, Albright) the last two weeks. Nothing gets easier this week as DVC’s Matt Cook comes to town. FDU is LVC’s homecoming opponent and hopes to get back on the winning track with their passing game. After winning three non-conference games, the Devils have lost to Widener and DVC. The Dutchmen (1-4, 0-2) depend on their running game and need to rebound from a very disheartening overtime loss to Wilkes. After losing late to Wilkes and being shut out by Lycoming, Albright (2-3, 0-2) hopes to right the ship against King’s, winless in five games. Albright has a potent offense, but the defense has been porous on many fronts. Despite the poor record, the Monarch’s have been close in every game since the opening season blowout to Springfield.

Conference play in field hockey continues this weekend as three MAC teams remain in the top 10 nationally (Eastern, Messiah, and Lebanon Valley). The MAC prevailed over two Centennial foes with Messiah thumping Gettysburg 5-0 and LVC squeaking by Haverford 4-3. Despite this close score, the Dutchmen have a scoring margin of 5.23 goals per game. The big Commonwealth game is this afternoon as Widener (8-2, 1-1) travels to Elizabethtown (9-3, 2-1) for claim to third place in standings. On Thursday, King’s (10-2, 3-0) slowed down Misericordia 2-1 to set up a battle for first place in the Freedom Conference at Eastern (12-2, 3-0) on Saturday. To keep pace for a tournament spot, two 1-2 teams do battle as Manhattanville heads to Delaware Valley.

MAC women’s soccer has some critical matchups this weekend. Wilkes (6-8, 2-1) needs to keep their Freedom Conference tournament hopes alive at a surprisingly potent FDU (10-4-1, 3-0). The Devils are scoring almost three goals a game and only giving up one. For the Colonels to prevail, they need to find a way to stop Brittany Kanickij and Lori Fink, FDU’s high scoring duo. Misericordia heads to Delaware valley for a showdown between two 1-2 teams – the winner remains in the thick of the conference race, the loser may be on the outside looking in. Messiah (12-0), the #1 team in the nation, gave up their first goal of the year in a 3-1 victory over Arcadia (10-2-1). Commonwealth opponents may give the Falcons their best competition as Widener visits Grantville. Smarting from a 2-0 loss to Arcadia, the Pride hopes to pull the upset as the second leading CC scoring team with a 3.08 GPG average.

Men’s soccer action intensifies this weekend. After losing to Misericordia 2-1, King’s (9-5, 2-1) visits Manhattanville (6-4-1, 1-1-1) for a key game. The Valiant’s, last year’s Freedom runner-up, can’t afford a loss to remain viable in the championship picture; the Monarch’s need to prove that they belong in the upper echelon by beating a top opponent. Two other conference favorites, Eastern (8-3-1, 3-0) and DeSales (8-4-2, 1-0-2), face off in Center Valley. The Bulldogs need to slow down the Eagles to remain in the tournament picture for a top seed. After a tough 1-0 loss to Messiah, Arcadia (7-6, 2-1) travels to Elizabethtown (8-1-2, 2-0) for a homecoming game and a shot at second place in the Commonwealth.