DANBURY, Conn.- The Western Connecticut State University men's tennis team will be the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Little East Conference (LEC) Championship Tournament having qualified for the post-season for the 14th time and the 11th year in a row. The Wolves, coached by Shawn Stillman (12th season), are 5-12 overall record and in fifth place in the league with a 2-4 mark in conference play with one match remaining against Farmingdale State on Monday.  WestConn will travel to the No. 4-seeded Salem State University Vikings (6-6, 3-3 LEC) for a 3:30 p.m. match on Tuesday, April 28 in the LEC Championship opening round. The winner of Tuesday's match will play at the top-seeded Bridgewater State on Thursday 3 p.m. and the championship finals will be held at the highest remaining seed on Saturday May 2. 

The winner of the Little East championship Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The other first round match on Tuesday features No. 3-seeded UMass Boston v. No. 6-seeded Southern Maine the winner of that match will face No. 2-seeded Rhode Island College on Thursday in the other semifinal on Thursday. WestConn has won the LEC title twice, defeating Salem State, 5-0 in the 2010 finals and earning the crown due to its 4-2 regular-season record in LEC dual matches in 2021.  The Wolves suffered a 4-3 setback on March 28 at Salem State during the regular season.

WestConn senior Aidan Burke (Wilton, Conn.) has been an All-LEC performer and is 7-9 this spring at the top of the singles ladder this spring.  Sophomore Alex Maldonado (Danbury, Conn.) leads the Wolves in singles wins with nine (9-8) playing in the middle of the lineup, while classmate Axel Javier (Danbury. Conn) is 8-6 in the bottom third of the ladder. WestConn juniors John Araujo (Bethel, Conn) and Jose Zambrano (Danbury, Conn.) have combined for eight singles victories between them.  In doubles, Maldonado and fellow sophomore Henry Gsell (Bridgewater, Conn.) are 10-6, mostly at the No. 3 position, while Araujo/Burke are 5-7 in doubles for the Wolves.