Vanguard men’s tennis team seeded third

The Vanguard University men’s tennis team (22-0) is the No. 3 seed for the 24-team NAIA men’s tennis championships that run Tuesday through May 18 in Mobile, Ala.

The Lions, champions of the Golden State Athletic Conference for the first time since 2000, have a first-round bye. They will meet either Warner of Florida or Oklahoma Baptist in the second round on May 15 at noon, PST.

Coach Mattias Johansson’s squad is the only unbeaten team in the NAIA. The Lions, led by Swiss imports Stefan Kilchhofer and Roger Muri, reached the quarterfinals of the NAIA tournament last year.

Kilchhofer, a freshman, is 22-0 in singles and 17-3 in doubles, playing with various partners in dual matches this season.

Muri, a sophomore, is 21-0 in singles and along with freshman Daymon Johnson is 15-0 in doubles.

Johnson, from Bakersfield, is 18-1 in singles.

Embry-Riddle of Florida is the No. 1 seed, while Auburn Montgomery is seeded No. 2 and Westmont, which Vanguard handled, 5-2, in the final of the GSAC Tournament last month, is the No. 4 seed.

The quarterfinals are scheduled for May 16, with the semifinals the following day and the title match on May 18.

— From staff reports